Spaced
by blackmoon16
Summary: Jane Shepard never thought she'd die, and Garrus Vakarian never thought he'd be living without her. But what happens when Shepard is brought back to life. Friendship grows and explodes into romance. Mass Effect 2 and 3. Slightly AU.
1. Prologue

Being spaced isn't what you expect. As I felt the Normandy fall apart beneath me, I expected fear and sorrow. Fear at being sucked out into space, sorrow at watching my home destroyed. I was a little correct, I did feel fear. Especially as I felt the oxygen slip through the holes of my punctured suit. I struggled to keep myself alive the only way I could, by keeping the oxygen IN. But there came a moment when I gave up. Fearless Jane Shepard, Captain of the Normandy, who chased Saren across the galaxy, who stared down a reaper….gave up.

I let my hands fall to my sides and that's when I felt that unexpected feeling…peace and acceptance. I spent my last few moments admiring the beauty and vastness of SPACE. For a space explorer I really took such little time looking at the miracles around me. It really was perfection. And that's exactly how I passed. With a burning in my lungs as my brain shut down from lack of oxygen. With my suit slowly melting as I entered some mystery plant's atmosphere. With peace, as I became a pointless part of such a beautiful universe.

At least, so I thought.

* * *

><p>Garrus Vakarian, spectre in training. If that didn't get the ladies, nothing would. Garrus chuckled and started typing that up in a message to send to Shepard. She would get a kick out of that one. He could see her cocky smirk now, "Garrus, you don't need a fancy title, not with that voice….It's a panty dropper."<p>

God he missed her.

But he was born to be a leader. He needed to at least try to make a name for his family before he followed her to the ends of the universe. Being back on the Citadel was killing him. He missed the exertion, the fear, the constant thumping of his heart while he took down the Geth. But mostly he missed her goddamned smirk. Laughing he leaned back in his chair, nostalgia taking him back, but it was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in," he said, and watched as Joker hobbled in. He looked like shit. There were dark circles under his eyes, he obviously hadn't slept in days. His face was covered in dried blood and filth, but there were clear tear tracks running down his face.

"What happened?" Garrus said softly as fear filled his core.

Joker just looked at him with despair. Garrus felt himself start to panic. "Joker! What happened?"

"The Normandy…she's gone," he whispered.

"How many? How many casualties?"

"Not many. Shepard got almost everyone out. But…"

"Where is she?" Garrus was starting to get angry. Joker wasn't answering the only question he NEEDED an answer to, and he was refusing to look him in the eyes.

"She's…s-she's gone…" He finally stammered.

Garrus felt everything inside him go cold. "How?"

"She saved me. I wouldn't…couldn't leave the Normandy. She was all I had. She dragged me out of there, and shoved me into an escape pod. But…everything just…just fell apart before she could escape…She got spaced. I'm sorry Garrus…It's my fault she's dead." Joker said, fresh tears running down his face.

"Get out."

Rage. That was all he felt. Deep down he knew that this wasn't really Joker's fault. But regret, sorrow, and RAGE made thinking impossible. He grabbed everything on his desk and threw it against the wall.

"GET OUT!" Joker ran as fast as he could out the door as Garrus lost all of his self-control.

Garrus continued to destroy the room. When everything was in pieces, he sat down in the middle of it all and wept. After everything they had been through, she had to die from asphyxiation. Everything they worked for was gone. His best friend and commander was gone. He felt his world fall apart and as he left the building he realized that he was never coming back.

Looking around he said goodbye to his old life. It was time to be better, if not for him then for HER. The sorrow and desperation slowly faded away to be replaced by a chill that ran deep inside him.

Damn, he really fucking hated the cold.


	2. Revival

Chapter 1:

Everything was blackness. I was floating in a dark abyss. There was no pain or suffering. That had slipped away with my mind. But there was also no joy, no pleasure. Just empty blackness. Trying as hard as I could, I couldn't recall a single thing about myself. There were no memories, no love, no friendship. Just a steady breathing in and out, and the thump thump thump of my heart clicking away. I thought I'd go insane from it all, but then I realized there was nothing left of my mind to go insane. Nothing mattered, and so I just floated.

An empty shell in an equally empty universe.

That's when the burning started. Just a slight tingling at first, enough heat to make me realize that I was really fucking cold, but not enough to hurt. But then I realized that I was feeling SOMETHING and that woke up my brain.

Images started to come back to me. A steady sucking as I felt the air and life leave me. Stars, planets, and life forces everywhere I looked. Fire. Emptiness. The images came faster and faster surrounding me in the darkness. The burning intensified until I felt alive. My black abyss lit up around me, and the next thing I knew I was staring at a very white ceiling.

I became very much aware. And very much in pain.

Everything came back at once. I should have been dead. I should have been ash floating with the universe. Where was Joker? Did he survive? What about the rest of my team? Liara? Garrus? Tali? Wrex? Kaiden? Where was everybody? But more importantly, where was I?

The stark ceiling held no answers for me. I tried to sit up, but could barely twitch a finger. That's when the panic set in. I could feel my heart start to race. Why couldn't I move? Why did everything hurt so goddamned much? Why did it feel like things were crawling beneath my skin?

"Oh my god, Miranda! I think…she's waking up!"

"It's too early! She's not ready yet! Give her a sedative!"

I wasn't alone.

"Shepard, try to stay calm."

The woman leaning above me was beautiful but terrifying. Bright blue eyes and full lips formed a round face. She was the epitome of perfection, but instead of welcoming, the symmetry of her face was unnerving. It was too perfect. It was untouchable. Her large blue eyes were ice and fire. There was a brutral coldness to her stare and a determination. She was not someone to cross.

"Give her another sedative! NOW!"

My world was phasing in and out. I was laying staring at the while ceiling, and then I was back in the endlessness of space. Everything became confusing and I wasn't sure what was real anymore. White and black. White and black. Living and dead. My heart was racing and I struggled to draw breath.

"It's not working!"

I didn't want to go back to the blackness. Now that I drew breath my humanity fought to live. I struggled to sit up. I thought that if I just touched the white ceiling I would be grounded here. I would live. But hands were there to push me back. I struggled but they were stronger than me.

"Stand down Shepard. It's not yet your time," the woman whispered in my ear. I tried to sit up again but her strength was unmatched. Blackness started to seep into my vision. My heart slowed and time stopped. Slowly I sunk back into my black abyss.

* * *

><p>Garrus damned the shithole he lived on. He damned his rotten luck. He damned his vigilante values. But mostly he damned Shepard.<p>

If she hadn't died saving everyone, he wouldn't have felt the need to better himself and the world around him. If she had just been selfish for once, he wouldn't be in this mess. He wouldn't have managed to piss off all the gangs on Omega, he wouldn't have inspired them to join up against him and his team. But mostly there wouldn't be "Archangel" Bringer of Justice. Okay, the name could stay. It sure as hell beat, "Spectre-in-training."

Running through the backstreets, Garrus kept to the shadows. One more block to go and he would be at the meeting place. Sidonis had better not be late. If he was correct about this informant then this could be the piece they needed to finally take down the gangs and hopefully Aria.

Rounding the corner, Garrus slid into the doorway and up the stairs. The room he entered was very dark and very empty.

Where was Sidonis?

Dread filled Garrus. Something was wrong. Running back down the stairs, he slipped out into the alley and back into cover. He watched as a team of mercs charged into the building he had just left. He needed to find his team. Now.

An explosion rocked the ground beneath him. Whipping out his gun, Garrus started running back towards camp and his team. Fear settled like ice in his gut, and he ran as fast as he could. The closer he got the worse things were. The smoke from the explosion made it easier to stay unnoticed but unfortunetly the smoke seemed to be coming from camp. It became thicker and blacker and soon Garrus's eyes were watering and it was difficult to see. The smell was overpowering, a mix of fire and burning flesh.

Garrus stumbled as he looked at the ruined camp around him. Following the smoke he found his team. They had been piled in a mound of limbs and blood. Bullet wounds riddled their bodies, and judging from the charred flesh he found where the explosion originated. There was one body separated from the rest. It was Roland, his youngest teammate, he had a flag running through his chest. The flag contained the symbols of the Eclipse, Blue Suns, and Blood Pack gangs.

Falling to his knees he said a silent prayer for his fallen family. Sidonis's betrayal cracked him to the core. This was his fault. When did he get so careless? When did everything fall apart?

Shots started ringing out around him. Looking up he found himself surrounded by mercs.

* * *

><p>"Wake up, Sherpard!"<p>

The voice echoed in and out of my skull. It held urgency and fear. That helped my instincts to kick in. Swinging my legs off the table I stood up and almost instantly fell over.

My body hurt. Every muscle ached and it was hard to get it to cooperate. It felt like every inch of me was screaming in protest but I was standing.

I was in some kind of medical lab. It seemed familiar but everything was vague. The memory was just out of reach. In the distance I heard gunshots and screaming.

"There's a gun in the corner. In the cabinet!"

The voice was familiar and with it came a flash of icy eyes and pale features.

I went to the corner and found a pistol. Picking it up I felt a rush go through my bones. My body relaxed and my breathing slowed to match my heartbeat. This is what coming home felt like. I didn't know what was happening. Loading my gun I decided it was about damn time to find out.

* * *

><p>Garrus flinched as a bullet skimmed and ricocheted off his armor. He was able to escape to a higher location, after his team's massacre. Mercs were coming at him across a bridge and he kept slowly picking them off. Either their aim was getting better or he was getting slower. Looking at his dwindling heat sinks, he really didn't see the point of this fight.<p>

Shepard was dead, his team was dead. It seemed that all he cared about died. Was there really a purpose to all this slaughter?

His sniper rifle clattered to the ground.

Garrus sat there trying to decide what to do. Should he continue to fight as Shepard would, or should he just stand up and let some lucky bastard take the kill shot?

He was so sick of the gore and guilt that came with war.

Maybe Archangel's days were finally at an end. Omega was the mission that just could not be completed. It thrived on crime and he knew that when he gathered his team. But with a team behind you, depending on you, a lot of impossible things become probable.

But even with all of that everything still felt empty. That's the one thing they don't tell you about losing someone you care for, love and live for. Once they're gone time changes. It's no longer days, months, years, its seconds, minutes, and hours that you've spent pushing through without them. Life becomes the small moments you've experienced without their influence. And it's those small moments instead of memories that matter, because it's a hell of a lot harder to light up the darkness and loneliness of life without that person.

And after two years, Garrus couldn't see a point to the fighting anymore. Creating his team acted like a bandage to cover the wound losing Shepard left behind. It stopped the blood from flowing, but didn't stich it back closed.

Laying his head against the wall, he ignored the gunshots ringing behind him, his aching muscles, the exhaustion, and battled with himself.


	3. The Bridge

There was silence in the shuttle, and I wasn't about to break it. Escaping the facility had been easy, once I picked up a gun. Everything had been a rush through the firefight but now everything was too quiet.

Cerberus.

The thought of them made me sick. How the hell did I get stuck with a terrorist organization? Not to mention the fact that I had been dead for TWO YEARS. And that they reconstructed my body and brought me back to life. I wouldn't have believed them but there was just something off about me. I felt less organic, like I could hear the 'click, click' of cybernetics running beneath my skin. Not to mention the scar…I had first caught sight of it about an hour ago.

_I had just shot and killed a mech when I saw a flash of orange out of the corner of my eye. Finding a shard of glass on the ground, I look at my reflection for the first time. I looked the same, except smoother. All the stress lines were gone, replaced by younger looking skin. Any grey that had made an appearance in my hair was gone as well. I looked like I hadn't ever seen battle. The only imperfection was the scattering of scars on my left cheek. There was a slight glow to them like whatever technology they put inside me was trying to escape. I dropped the glass, picked up my gun, and moved on. _

I wasn't Commander Jane Sheppard anymore. I was a Cerberus toy now. A hybrid of Alliance order and Cerberus chaos. Was there even any of Shepard left inside? Or was I all machine?

And now I was stuck here in a shuttle with two Cerberus lapdogs. Jacob didn't seem so bad. He was ex-Alliance. He seemed willing to cooperate with me and just oozed disciple. He was probably a phenomenal solider, but kept giving me worried glances that annoyed me. He looked at me like I was going to break. Miranda, on the other hand, screamed stuck up bitch. As soon as I saw her flashing memories came back to me of her face.

_"It's not yet your time…"_

I was her life project and experiment. She built me from scorched flesh and ash, and made me alive again. She kept acting like I was going to be so thankful towards her and do anything she asked. She didn't know me very well, neither of them did. So we sat in silence with a burning facility behind us and nothing but tension before us.

After arriving at the docking back, Miranda and Jacob insisted that I go speak with the "Illusive Man". What kind of name was that? I guess the brains behind Cerberus wasn't going to be called 'Michael' or anything nice and simple...but the 'Illusive Man'….really?

Stepping onto the platform I felt my body get scanned. Soon I was looking in to a vast dark room. The only light came from the dying star displayed in the background, and from the many screens running information so quickly it was unreadable. In front of me was a large leather chair with a rather unremarkable man sitting in it. He looked pretty insignificant, except for his bored smirk, and his cybernetic eyes. I instantly disliked him. Taking a large drag from his cigarette he blew smoke towards me and said, "Well Commander Shepard, welcome back to the living."

His eyes whirred at me, and I could see the machine hidden within the man. "Why aren't we meeting face to face?"

"Precaution. People of our importance and knowledge should always use such precaution."

I sensed that he was afraid of me, and that confused me even more. "Why did you bring me back? Why not leave me dead, and select humanities next big hero?"

"For the defense and preservation of humanity. I didn't spend two years and a billion credits to bring back a common solider."

Things started to click into place. There was only one reason someone would specifically choose to bring me back. "The Reapers. What has happened?"

"We are facing the greatest threat to our short existence. While you were being rebuilt entire human colonies have been disappearing. We don't think it's the Reapers themselves doing the abducting but a party working for them. Just like Saren and the Geth did. You are the only one to have bested all of them, and the only one that can save us. You are more than just one solider. You are the face of courage, and the one people remember saving the Citadel. You are the only one who can stop this threat."

"I'm going to need my team." That was the only thing I could think of. I needed my squad mates back. I couldn't have taken down Saren without them, and I sure as hell wouldn't be able to save the fucking universe without their help.

"Your team is scattered. After you died they all fell apart. I have created a dossier of the best there is. They will become your new team."

My heart sank and it must have shown on my face because the Illusive Man's smirk widened. "I think you'll like your pilot though." And with that comment he disconnected our conversation.

"Hey, Commander."

I turned around to see a familiar hunched frame in the doorway. "Joker!" My joy at seeing him again was cut short when I got closer. He looked like shit. The bags under his eyes were black enough to look like he had just gotten into a fight. His face was now lined with frown marks, giving him the perception of bitter anger.

"What did they do to you?" was all I was able to get out.

He just dropped his eyes to the floor and sighed.

"Has it really been two years?" I tried again.

"Yeah," he whispered looking back at me. I finally recognized the expression on his face: guilt. "After you died, everything just kinda went to hell. The Council stopped believing the Reapers were real and we tried to fight for it. They just ignored us and pushed everything under the rug. That was the end of our team, without you everything fell apart. Tali went back to the Migrant Fleet, Liara made a name for herself on Illium, Wrex went back to try and reunite the Krogan, Kaiden is still with the Alliance, and Garrus just fucking disappeared. I was grounded. They took away my wings. Cerberus were the only ones willing to give them back."

"Joker, I'm so sorry."

"Why are you sorry? I'm the one that got you killed."

Disbelief rocked me. Had he been living with this for the last two years? The guilt of killing his CO, breaking apart the team, and possibly dooming humanity? "No, you didn't. I have never thought that for a second." Walking up to him I pulled him into a tight but gentle hug. "You did everything you could to save us. It's not your fault we were ambushed."

"Sure, Commander." His voice was still heavy but at least the bitterness was gone.

"So, if you're my pilot…where's our ship? Don't tell me they brought the SR1 back to life too."

"Even better. Let me show you," he said with a cocky grin. I followed him out of the room and back into the docking bay. "This is my new baby."

The ship was HUGE. Much bigger than the SR1. "It looks faster."

Joker winked at me. "She runs like a dream."

"Take me aboard."

"Aye, aye Commander."

The ship really was beautiful. Everything was laid out so perfectly. The only thing I detested was my enormous quarters. I would prefer to be close to my crew, than be isolated from the rest of the ship. I had my own fucking floor, it was too quiet.

Freedom's Progress had been a disaster. The Illusive Man had us go as our first mission. A human colony had just gone missing and it was soon enough that there might have been a clue as to what was happening to the colonies. Upon arrival we found nothing. Everyone was gone, but it was like they had vanished. There was no sign of a struggle. In some houses tables were even set for dinner, as if the colonists had been in the process of dinner. The whole thing was frustrating and mysterious.

And then we had run into Tali. I had been so excited to see her, but she just stared at me coldly through her visor...Well as coldly as you can be for a Quarian. We helped her find Veetor, and stop the mechs he was controlling. That was when things had gotten a little weird. According to Veetor the colonists were taken by the Collectors. Which was always just a superstitious story to read to naughty children. What was going on here? If there really was such things as Collectors, then the Reapers were definitely involved. Tali's rejection to help us had stung, but I understood that she had other responsibilities now. I needed to remember that it had been 2 years for her, while it felt like moments for me.

Pulling up the dossier the Illusive Man had sent I looked at what our potential team could be. And tried to forget the giant hole that my old team had left behind. Everyone had moved on to pursue their own priorities, except for Joker and Garrus.

The fact that Garrus was missing worried me. The ex C-Sec officer had always had a higher view of justice, and hopefully he didn't piss off someone bigger than himself. He was supposed to be training to be a Spectre. What the hell had happened to him? Garrus was tough and one of the best fighters I'd ever seen, but he also had a soft side. It could be considered a weakness, but I saw it as the reason he was the best of us all. He saw things that people ignored. He took the time to help EVERYONE instead of the one person who needed it most…I just hoped he was alright wherever he was.

According to the dossier there were three people to recruit on Omega. A mercenary named Zaeed who sounded like a handful, a supposedly mad scientist named Mordin, and Archangel the vigilante whose methods seemed to be escalating into more brutality and violence. They all sounded useful but what was the price where I sacrifice my morals. Maybe I already sacrificed them by aligning with Cerberus, I thought of the worried eyes behind Tali's screen. All three listed were obviously dangerous, but I guess the whole galaxy was on the line, so no time to over analyze morals.

Landing on Omega I wasn't surprised to find it was a shithole. A place run without laws, just the iron fist of Aria. The place stunk of blood and deceit.

I went to find Zaeed first. Out of the three, he was the only one expecting me. And the only one already with a Cerberus contract. As long as they kept paying him, he wasn't going to disobey.

Where would I find a mercenary bounty-hunter? The bar of course.

I found the dirtiest and seediest bar I could, and looked in the darkest corner. There I found a scarred man with a really big gun. "Zaeed, I presume?"

"What do you want?" He looked bored but I wasn't stupid enough to miss the awareness in his eyes or the knife that had magically appeared in his hand.

Before I could open my mouth, Miranda stepped forward, hips seductively swaying. "We're with Cerberus."

"I can see that sweetheart, and as I said, what do you want?"

"You have a contract with us, remember? Or were you knocked on the head a few too many times?" Miranda replied, pissed that her tight suit didn't seem to faze him.

"Oh, I remember. I also remember that while I have been paid, you owe me something else too. A little retribut-"

"It will be done," Miranda quickly cut him off.

Irritation overwhelmed me. Why hadn't I been informed of any of this? If they expect me to run and recruit a crew, I need to know all the details. Miranda and I were going to have a nice long chat later. Jacob must have seen my predatory grin because one glance at me made him take a step back.

Meanwhile, it seemed like Zaeed and Miranda were locked in a staring contest. Finally, Zaeed stood up, gripped his gun, and looked at me. "Where to Commander?"

"Uh…Why don't you head back to the ship and get settled. We will talk in a little bit."

"Looking forward to it," he said with a wink and sauntered off.

"That wasn't so bad," I said looking at Miranda and Jacob. They both gave me an unexpressive look. "Let's find Aria and see if she knows anything about Mordin or Archangel."

They both nodded at me. God, I missed my team. While not everyone got along, at least there was conversation. "Do you know where she's located?"

"She owns the bar, Afterlife. She's probably there."

"Thank you," I said sweetly, with a smile at Jacob. He still gave me a blank stare, but his shoulders relaxed a little bit.

Afterlife was easy enough to find. It was the biggest and loudest bar, and it was also located smack in the center of Omega. An Elcor bouncer let us by without concern, much to the anger of a seedy, shouting human. Aria was also easy to find because she was surrounded by armed guards in the middle of the club.

She didn't even give me a second glance as she laid out the ground rules of Omega. "Don't fuck with Aria." That was easy enough for me to remember. Aria wasn't someone to cross but her rules were pretty clear cut. I wasn't too worried about pissing her off. She wasn't upstanding, but I found I liked her iron-fisted simplicity.

Mordin was a salarin located in a quarantine zone. He was running a health clinic trying to find a cure. He would be difficult to get too considering the quarantine made him cut off from outsiders. Plus, the Blue Suns were known to be running rampant raiding the place.

Archangel had apparently managed to piss off the three merc gangs on Omega. He was currently holed up somewhere slowly killing them off. Beside that not much was known about him besides his bold attacks on the gang leaders. "I say we get Archangel first. He has been holed up for a couple days. Who knows when they might actually overpower him."

"I agree." Said Miranda, "Plus he's easier to get to. Those gangs will hire anyone to try and take him out."

Getting hired onto one of the merc gangs was easy. Once we got there and they disclosed their plan of attack, I got pissed. Archangel was located across a narrow bridge, so the gangs were hiring people to go out on a suicide run. They needed people to run across the bridge to try reach Archangel from a frontal assault while the rest of the teams snuck in from behind. They basically just needed a distraction. The people they had hired were young, inexperienced, and getting slaughtered. It was time to put a stop to this massacre. I went to go find my 'team leader' so that we could get going, while also hacking into and sabotaging the heavy machinery along the way. No need to make it easy for them.

After what seemed like forever we headed across the bridge.

It was time to find Archangel.

* * *

><p>Garrus picked up another heat sink and reloaded his gun. The indecision of this fight had cost him major ground. At first he had been uncertain on whether or not to give up. He had actually gone so far as to stand up and out in the open. But at that second, his knees had given out, saving his life. A bullet had swished over his head, and slammed into the opposite wall. Exhaustion rolled off him in waves. He had been up here for days now. But whenever he felt like giving up he always saw the same image in his head: Shepard standing on top of the rubble of the Citadel, Saren's body, ash at her feet, blood running freely down her face and arms, but she stood with the most beautiful and triumphant smirk on her face. In that moment she represented the best in humanity; with the sunlight behind her and the destruction before her. She was truly a miracle to behold and his reason to keep fighting.<p>

"Exhaustion should never be an excuse. It should only be your motivation to move on."

And because of that Garrus kept reloading his gun, kept lining up his kills, and kept fighting. To preserve her memory and the perfection of that moment.

The next wave of mercs were coming. He could hear them stomping along the bridge. He felt guilty for killing them, they obviously had never seen a battle before. Their armor was a mix of heavy and light, and most of them had terrible aim. He shot three in the head and paused to reload. When he peaked back over his wall, he saw two more had been killed.

Either he was delusional or someone was helping him.

Scanning the end of the bridge he saw three well-armed and well trained mercs. Two of them wore the Cerberus logo, and that was enough for him to line up the headshot. But then he got a closer look at the third merc, in the red and black armor.

Shepard?

There was no way he wasn't hallucinating now. Garrus dropped his gun when his hands started to shake. Falling to his knees, he picked up his gun, and peered back through his scope at the three.

It was her. He could never forget the fluid way she moved or the precision of her aim. But she was dead. She was fucking dead. His heart started hammering in his chest. If she wasn't dead, where the fuck had she been the last two years? He was having a hard time breathing. This wasn't real.

Aiming carefully, he fired a shot into her shoulder. It would bring down her shield but not actually hurt her. The shot landed perfectly and he watched as she jerked back from the impact. She looked directly at him with determination and surprise.

Fuck. It was her.

And he just shot her. It was nothing to someone like her, but…still not the friendliest greeting.

Garrus watched her round the corner and listened as she pounded up the stairs. He took a seat on some crates and hoped she didn't see the constant shake of his hands.

He couldn't believe this was real.

It was just like her to show when he needed her most. To pop in after two years to save his life.

He worked to get his heart to stop racing and his breathing under control, and waited for her to enter the room.

* * *

><p>He shot me. That bastard actually shot me. I helped take down the mercs aiming for his head and then he says 'thank you' by taking down my shields.<p>

I started pounding up the stairs, ready to make some negotiations. Before me sat a turian, he was perched on a pile of crates. Exhaustion was palpable in the air around him, but he also exerted danger. He wasn't someone to play around with, he seemed like someone with nothing to lose. I was suddenly glad that he shot me on the shoulder instead of the head. He could have easily killed me.

"Archangel?" I asked cautiously. He just sat there looking at me through his helmet. I couldn't see his facial expression through the tinted front, but I watched as he slowly lowered his gun to the ground. His hands were shaking, almost uncontrollably. Was he that exhausted?

"I thought you were dead," he said as he lifted his helmet off.

"Garrus!"

I couldn't believe my luck! I should have known it was him, with the spectacular shots he was making.

My excitement and joy overwhelmed me and I threw my arms out to hug him. But I stopped short when I saw the look he was giving me. His face was lined with fatigue and stress. He looked like he had experienced a hell of a lot in the last two years. His eyes were weary and cold. I realized he didn't trust me. Gone was Garrus Vakarian, easy going C-Sec officer, ready to fight for justice and the good of the underdog. This was Archangel and he was someone to be feared.

"I thought you were dead," he repeated.

I put down my arms and stepped closer to him. "I was. I was dead for two years. Cerberus brought me back a couple of months ago. The Reapers are back, and they are using the Collectors to harvest humans. I could use your help."

He sighed and looked down at me. "Cerberus, Jane?" He gestured towards the two behind me.

I realized that this was the first time he had actually called me by name. Ever. Things had really changed for him. I felt my defenses go up when I realized that this wasn't Garrus anymore. He had grown up a hell of a lot. "This is bigger than that. We need to save the galaxy, and Cerberus is going to supply the resources and men to do it. Trust me, I don't like it either, but those two aren't so bad."

He brought up one hand and rested it on my shoulder. He was still shaking, but not nearly as bad. "I didn't think you were real," he whispered. His voice shook slightly and in it I could hear pain and fear.

I covered his hand with mine. "I'm real…well mostly. He did you end up here in this situation? How the hell did you manage to piss off EVERYBODY?"

"I really fucked up this time. But that's going to have to wait. There's another wave coming."

A shot rang out from behind us. "Uh…looks like they started getting smart. I'll do my best work covering our asses while you pick them off from the front. Jacob stay here and keep him safe." Garrus looked like he was about to protest but his exhaustion worried me. "That's an order." I smirked at him, as he cocked an eyebrow at me. He stayed silent but I could see the relief in his eyes.

"Just like old times?"

"Just like old times," I confirmed.

Faster than I could blink, he pulled up his gun and down a merc crawling across the bridge. "Well then, I'm winning."

"No fair, you've had two years to practice."

"Excuses, excuses…" He winked as he shooed me towards the back stairs.

It was good to have Garrus back.

Closing up the shutters took longer than I expected, especially when the vorcha showed up with fucking flamethrowers. The steady 'bang, thud' of Garrus dropping mercs kept me going. I wasn't going to lose to him this time. Keeping a running kill count had always been our way of distracting ourselves from the death and gore around us. Garrus always seem to win, but I was pretty sure he cheated.

Nearing the back staircase, Miranda and I got held up by some mercs that had slipped through our defenses.

"Shepard, hurry up!" Garrus yelled from upstairs. "I'm ready for a nap!"

"Coming! I'm pretty sure you're going to need a shower too. You stink."

"What? That's not a turn on?" his voice dropped to a purr. As he spoke a loud rumbling filled the air. Dropping down from above us a gunship appeared.

"WATCH OUT!" Even as the words left my mouth, I knew it was too late. Garrus had nowhere to take cover. He was moving too slowly from fatigue and the ship caught him easily. I tried to race across the room towards him, as the ship opened fire. Three shots pierced my armor knocking me down. Jacob grabbed my ankles and dragged me into cover. Blue blood fell like rain around us, and I watched as he hit the ground hard. Blood started to seep across the floor, but turian are warriors. I knew that as bad as it was, I could still see his chest moving up and down steadily.

He was fine.

Aw those thoughts crossed my mind, I saw the gunship release a rocket.

"NO!" I struggled to be free of Jacob's grip. Garrus heard my scream and tried to sit up. "DOWN! GARRUS LAY BACK DOWN!" He looked at me with confusion as the rocket slammed into the side of his face.

Now there really was blood everywhere.

Grabbing my grenade launcher, I screamed as I hurled grenade after grenade into the ship. I didn't stop until it was ash.

Running over to where Garrus had been thrown, I took stock of the damage. His blood covered the ground and his body. There was a thick musky scent in the air, instead of the metallic tang I was used to when smelling blood. I choked on it.

Kneeling down in his blood I look at his face. The whole lower right half of his cheek was gone. I slapped as many med-gels as I had directly onto his wound. I could see his bone and snapped tendons through the gaping hole. If he lived through this, he was going to be really fucking pissed.

"Where's the goddamned shuttle!?" I shouted at Miranda and Jacob.

"Almost here," was the only response I got. Jacob had the courtesy to look concerned, but Miranda just looked annoyed.

"Hold on Garrus. I didn't come back from the dead just to watch you die!"

He must have heard me because with a wheezing breath his eyes opened. His grip on his gun tightened as fear took over him. His eyes kept dilating, trying to find something to focus on. I moved closer so he could see my face. His eyes trained on me, his pupils were so large his blue eyes looked black. I watched as his eyes started to glaze over.

"Garrus stay with me!" I was losing him, but didn't know what to do. "Breathe with me. In and out. In and out. Don't think of anything else. In and out." I watched his chest move up and down with mine. I could hear the blood filing his lungs. He was slowly drowning in his own bodily fluids. We sat like that for what felt like hours, even though it wasn't more than minutes. I listened as his breathing got heavier and heavier, until finally his eyes started to close. "You can do this Garrus. Fight! We're supposed to be saving the universe. Don't give up now," I whispered in his ear.

The shuttle finally arrived and I rode with him until we were back on the Normandy with Dr. Chakwas.

She took one look at him and said, "Fuck. Get out, all of you." We all left as she went to work. I moved to the mess hall and watched through the window as she applies med-gel after med-gel to his wounds. Looking up, she caught me watching. With a flick of her arm the windows tinted out.

I was left to sit alone, covered in Garrus's blood, and wait to see if he would pull through. I couldn't get his face out of my mind. Something had happened to him in the last two years; something bad. He had always been my favorite. He was the easiest to fight with, talk to, laugh with, or even to just sit in silence with. He always had a different perspective to life and a good word to contribute. Seeing him again made me realize how much I missed him. If he didn't pull through…if he died…I didn't know how I was going to save everyone without him.

I put my head in my hands and waited. The musky smell of his blood mixing with the metallic scent of mine, making me nauseous.


	4. The Professor

**Thank you everyone for reading this! Reviews are welcome always! This is a shorter chapter but the next one is almost done so bear with me (: And thank you again **

* * *

><p>It was so quiet. My breaths rang out around me and echoed back. The silence scared me and brought back flashes of the vacuum of space. I needed to get out of here. There wasn't anything else I could do for Garrus but wait. And waiting made me feel helpless. Helpless Shepard was an angry Shepard.<p>

I got up and decided to walk around the ship. Making my way up front I found Joker arguing with EDI, the AI system that Cerberus installed in the ship.

"Call me Joker. It's my name."

"But your name is Jeffery Moreau."

"Yes, but I liked to be called Joker."

"Why? You are neither funny nor constantly joking."

Joker spun his chair around to face me. "Commander, please let me release this machine into space. We can see how long it takes for the pressure to crush it."

"It would take approximately -" EDI responded.

"Stop! You're sucking the fun out of my life."

Joker looked up at me. "How is he? I've never been Garrus's biggest fan but no one deserves a rocket to the face."

"I don't know. Dr. Chakwas is still working on him." I slumped down into the co-pilot seat. "Do you ever miss the old team?"

"Yeah I do. But those days were rough. Being chased by geth, following Saren across the galaxy. I may miss our weird mix-matched family, but I wouldn't want to go back to that."

"It's going to be a lot worse this time around. At least with Saren, we knew who our enemies were. This time we are running blind, our only information are old children's stories. How are we supposed to save everyone when we don't know what we're fighting? Or where they are?"

Joker gave me a knowing look, sorrow etched in his face. "We aren't going to save everyone, only the ones we can. We have to do the best we can, and deal with the consequences because when this is all over you they're going to need someone to point at. Now, whether they say, 'Why did you let so many die?' or 'Thank you for saving our asses' is up to them. We just have to keep on pulling through."

I reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, Joker. I'm sorry you suffered these last two years."

"It doesn't matter. I'm back now."

"EDI, make sure you address Mr. Moreau as 'Joker' from now on."

"Yes, Commander."

I got up. It was time to go see Zaeed and see what the hell Miranda had kept from me. I found him hidden away with the garbage disposal. It seemed he liked isolation. Knocking I walked to find him cleaning his M-8 Avenger.

"How are you settling in?"

He looked up and just stared at me.

"Let's get down to business. I need to know what else you expect besides your payment."

"I have a prior contract that Cerberus told me they would help me take care of. We need to liberate an energy refinery belonging to the Blue Suns. It's located on Zorya."

Something was off. Zaeed was avoiding eye contact with me and he started gripping his gun tighter. "Why are we really doing this?"

He paused for a moment. "I'm after Vido Sontiago."

"The leader of the Blue Suns? Why?"

"We co-founded the Blue Suns together. Everything was going so well until I found myself being held down by bartarians with a gun in my face." He slowly ran a hand over the scar ruining half of his face. "That bastard betrayed me. I'm due for some retribution."

"Okay, Zaeed. We'll get him."

He nodded in thanks.

"Now suit up. We are headed onto Omega to get us a professor."

"Yes ma'am. Who else is coming?"

"Miranda,"

"The princess? Why?"

"I saw how well you two got along."

"Oh, that's just cruel."

I smirked. "Meet us by the shuttle in 20."

I went upstairs and washed the grime off of me. I let the hot water beat against my upper body until I felt all my muscles start to relax. For the first time in the last 24 hours I felt calm. It had been hours since we brought Garrus back and I hadn't been told he died. He wouldn't have survived this long to end up dead.

I stopped by the med bay on my way down. Everything was still locked up tight. "EDI, can you tell me how he's doing?"

"Dr. Chakwas has requested I release no information."

"Can you tell me anything?"

Dr. Chakwas's voice flowed around me. "He is stable. Now be quiet and let me do my job. Go kill something if you're bored."

Grinning I walked away. At least he was stable. I was still hoping for no brain damage. Walking towards the shuttle, I saw Zaeed and Miranda waiting for me. Their postures were stiff and awkward. "Come on. Let's go get us a mad scientist."

* * *

><p>There was nothing gradual about Garrus's awakening. Panic set in. All he could remember was white hot agony, the smell of his blood and burning flesh, and Shepard's terrified eyes. He remembered her mouth moving but her words were lost in the space between them. What had happened? Trying to sit up he realized that he couldn't feel half of his face. "Dr. Chak-"He stumbled over his words. Everything felt wrong. He was nauseous and his whole body was trembling. Dr. Chakwas came from her back room. She looked exhausted and her Cerberus uniform was covered in his blood.<p>

"Oh good. You're alive."

"Wh-haat ha…."

"Don't speak, you'll mess up all my hard work. You took a bloody rocket to the face. It completely ripped half of it off. The damage was so extensive that I had to use cybernetics to keep your face held together at all. That's why your face is numb. You need to lie still so the cybernetics can properly attach." She walked up, grabbed a syringe and plunged it into the soft part of Garrus's neck. "Now that will make you go back to sleep. Try not to move." Dr. Chakwas yawned and walked back to her own room.

Garrus's vison started to get black at the corners. His eyes started closing and he slipped back into a dreamless sleep.

This time he came to slowly. Everything shifting from black to grey. He needed to find Shepard. He needed to make sure she was real. Stepping out of bed he swayed slightly. His head felt so heavy.

"Garrus Vakarian you may want to find the commander."

It sounded like a VI. "Where's she located?"

"In her room upstairs."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome Garrus Vakarian."

"You can just call me Garrus."

"Very well. You may call me EDI." So an AI then. Shepard was playing a dangerous game. She was involved with Cerberus and had an AI running the ship? It was time for them to talk. Leaving the med bay, he ran into a salarian eating by himself in the mess hall.

"Garrus Vakarian. Also known as Archangel." The salarian rushed over. "Extensive damage to the facial structure. Scent of gunpowder. Large burns on armor. Indicate was hit with large artillery. Survival rate low, but still pulled through," the salarian finally took a deep breath after that mouthful, "Impressive."

Garrus could hardly keep up with him, he was talking so fast. His head started throbbing. "And who are you?"

"Mordin Solus."

"Nice to meet you. But excuse me, I have some things to take care of."

"Should eat. Would make headache stop."

Garrus stopped and glanced at Mordin. Mordin just cocked his head to the side and gave him a knowing look. "I will soon." Mordin nodded and went back to eating his dinner. He found the elevator and hit the top floor. Pressing his head against the wall, he tried to stop his world from spinning. Finally, he found himself stumbling to her door. Leaning against the frame he knocked. After a long time the door finally slid open.

Shepard stood before him in her armor. There was still blood shining on it and the smell of sweat and gunpowder was heavy in the air. She looked glorious. A series of emotions played across her face: surprise, joy, and finally guilt.

"Garrus! Come in. Take a seat. You look like shit." She sidestepped so he could enter the room. Her cabin was huge and completely impersonal. There was nothing to indicate this was where Shepard lived besides a slight crumple to the bed sheets. He took a seat on the couch.

Garrus's mind started racing. There were a million things he wanted to ask her, to tell her. What is going on? Did you know it's been two years? Did you try to find me? Where are the others? Did you know I missed you? The only thing he blurted out was, "How bad is it? They wouldn't give me a mirror."

She seemed surprised by the question. Her eyes raked over his face. "Hell, you were always ugly, just slap some face paint on and no one will notice."

Chuckling Garrus said, "Some women find facial scars attractive. Mind you, most of those women are Krogan…"

"I'm glad you're here Garrus. I can't do this without you. I need someone I can trust here. I need to know that someone's got my six. It's going to be hell."

"You do realize your plan has me going into hell with you?" There was a long pause. Shepard looked up at him with apprehension. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Just like old times." She moved across the room and sat in a chair across from him.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"Liar." She smirked at him and a silence fell between them. There was a lot to talk about but neither of them wanted to start. Finally she looked up at him. She simply said, "Tell me about Omega."

A weight settled into his chest and he found it harder to breathe. Clutching his hands into fists he slowed his breathing. "After you died, everything fell apart. The Counsel denied your claims and called you crazy. The alliance wasn't much better. I couldn't associate myself with such ignorance anymore. The day I found out about you and the Normandy I left the Citadel and never looked back. I've never regretted it. I needed to do something to help. Becoming a Spectre would have taken too long and I would have been tied to the Alliance. I needed to disappear. I went to the most crime ridden world I could think of and started fucking things up. Everything was going really well before I was betrayed." Garrus stopped talking. Anger and humiliation fighting its way to the surface. "Sidonis. One of my men betrayed me."

"What happened?" Garrus looked at Shepard expecting to find pity. Instead he just found understanding. It prompted him to continue.

"We were closing in on taking out one of the biggest leaders of the Eclipse gang. We had intel coming in from inside the ranks. It kept us one step ahead. Sidonis was the one handling our spy, but something urgent came up and that we needed to meet at our emergency location. I arrived to find it empty. They used that opportunity to massacre the rest of my team. It was Sidonis who betrayed me…us. He is going to pay for it. A thousand times over."

She just gave him a long look. Her eyes traveled over his hardened expression and finally rested on the bandage covering half his face. She sighed. "Are you sure, Garrus?"

"Is that even a question? Of course I'm sure. You don't have to approve of my choices or decisions but it will happen with or without you." Garrus stood up, his rigid posture betraying his anger. "I should sleep."

Without turning around he left her cabin. If he had looked back he would have seen the sorrow written across her face. A single tear escaped her eyes as she said goodbye to the Garrus she used to know and began to understand Archangel and the structure of regret and hatred he was built from. Standing up she extinguished the lights and spent the night staring out her skylight at the empty space before her. Laying there she couldn't help but wonder if maybe he had died with her, and that she hadn't been alone, suffocating in the endless expanse of beauty and cold.


	5. The Convict

**Thank you everyone again for reading this! And well... Enjoy! **

* * *

><p>I woke up screaming. Again. My thrashing was so violent that all the sheets and blankets were strewn across the room. It was always the same dream:<p>

_I'm in the shower, covered in blood and grime. My muscles ache pleasantly and it's obvious that I had just come from battle. I take my time to rub the filth off me. My adrenaline is still pumping and the heat of the water relaxes me. After a while I step out and towel off. I still feel moisture on my face and try to wipe it away. The towel comes back red. Running to the mirror I find the skin around my scar has peeled back. It is seeping blood and pus. Looking closer I realize I can see the flesh beneath my skin. I has started rotting. Worms and maggots crawl holes through my decomposing muscle. My flesh starts to slowly fall off. Chunk after chunk. Everything inside me is rotten. I try to hold myself together but my tissue slips between my fingers. _

_ Looking back into the mirrors, I am a combination of skeleton and cybernetics. I can see where Cerberus knit me back together with machine. I can see the 'click, click' of cogs and wheels working where half my brain was. My body has become a metal cage to hold my organs in"_

That's when I woke up to the sounds of my own screams. It has been this way every night for the last week. I look like hell. My eyes are puffy and red, my skin has started turning yellow. Even awake I can still hear the 'click, click' of machines. It's driving me fucking crazy.

I get out of bed and head to the bathroom. I take a quick shower and avoid looking in the mirror. I'm afraid of what I will see. I know the crew has noticed the change in me. I keep getting worried glances. I have also caught both Dr. Chakwas and Mordin trying to slip things into my drink.

The worst part of it all is Garrus. I know he sees me falling apart and does nothing about it. Our interactions are cold and lifeless. There is still an undercurrent of anger in him but he keeps his face expressionless. These last two years have taught him to wear a thick mask, and I'm just too damn tired to see through it. I feel cornered and betrayed. I thought picking up Garrus would have given me an ally on the ship, someone to trust. Apparently I was wrong, back to square one: alone and unprepared.

This morning I found myself wandering into the main battery. I don't know what I was looking for, I don't think I was thinking. I found myself staring at his back as he typed away at the monitor. "Do you have a minute?"

"Not right now. I'm in the middle-" He didn't even turn around and so I left before he finished speaking. I headed to the mess hall and grabbed breakfast: a cup of black coffee.

Mordin looked up as I sat across from him. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of my coffee. "Should not drink that. Caffiene bad for you. Especially with such little sleep last week. Drink this instead." He pulled a steaming mug out from under the table and slid it towards me. I stared at it suspiciously. It smelled earthy and was light brown in color. At this point, I was too tired to argue and I picked it up. Sipping it, I found it had a slight minty flavor. The tension immediately flowed out of me and muscles I didn't know were sore relaxed.

"What is this?"

"Tea," was all he said.

"I didn't know they still made tea."

"Make myself. Grow herbs. Has medicinal properties."

"Well…thank you, Mordin."

He just nodded and continued drinking his tea. We were headed to find our next 'teammate'. A convict named Jack. He was supposedly the most powerful biotic ever…if that was true then we absolutely needed him. He was being held on Purgatory. One of the most famous turian prison ships. Also one of the harshest. I wondered what he did to land himself there. It had to have been bad to end up in that kind of maximum security. Which was good for me because that meant he was powerful.

Now I just had to decide who to take with me…Absolutely not Jacob. He was too uptight and would probably act self-righteous the entire time. I honestly didn't have the patience for that. Miranda was also a biotic and could be useful relating to Jack but if he was more powerful…Miranda would feel threatened. Which made for a violent Miranda. Mordin would be a huge help but he might overanalyze the psychological abuse of imprisonment and we needed to make a good impression if we wanted to leave alive with Jack. That left Zaeed and Garrus. Zaeed would be good for this mission. His carefree attitude would make getting this job done easier. Plus, if we saw some fucked up things on our mission he wouldn't have a problem walking away. And bringing a big, strong turian onto a turian run prison was ALWAYS a good idea, no matter how mad that particular turian was at me.

I drained my mug and stood up. Stretching I realized that I felt pretty damn good, after that tea. I walked up to the front of the ship. "Joker, how's it going?"

"Good, Commander." He spun around and looked up at me. He looked irritated.

"Are you fighting with EDI again?"

"Joker seems to be—" She started.

"I'm ignoring it." Joker said over EDI. "If I pretend it's not there maybe it will go away."

"That is an unlikely conclusion, Joker," EDI responded.

"It's not working," Joker moaned.

"You might just have to live with her." I chuckled.

Joker rolled his eyes and spun back around.

"Joker, how close are we to Purgatory?"

"20 minutes, Commander."

"EDI, tell Zaeed and Garrus to suit up. They're coming on this one."

"Yes, Commander."

* * *

><p>Garrus leaned against the shuttle and waited. EDI had informed him 20 minutes ago that he was going to Purgatory. He was ready to see some action, there were too many pent up feelings and desperation in him. He needed a release. He needed <span>something.<span> He had been using the makeshift gym down in the shuttle bay, but after running for hours and breaking a punching bag he just felt angrier. He needed to spar with someone. He needed to draw blood. He needed to feel in control of himself.

He was overjoyed Shepard was alive. But the look she had given him when he told her about his team…he had expected her to agree with him, to be on his side. Not to look at him with sadness, like he had disappointed her somehow.

He didn't understand how things were different now. With Dr. Saleon she taught him that retribution was okay. That some people deserve to die. Surely Sidonis deserved death. He could still smell the burning flesh of his team, and see Roland's skewered corpse. Sidonis absolutely deserved to die. He deserved to suffer for every life his betrayal was responsible for.

The elevator opened and Garrus looked up expecting Shepard but found a human man instead. He had an M-8 Avenger slung across his back. His armor was heavy but he walked with a confident stride. There was a large scar that slashed diagonal across his face. His face was weathered and he had obviously seen a lot of battle. He came straight up to Garrus and held out his hand.

"Archangel. Nice to finally meet you. I'm Zaeed."

They shook hands. "You can just call me Garrus."

"Were you ever able to get close to Vido Santiago?"

"We almost got the catch on him one night. We surprised him while he was sleeping, but that son of a bitch sleeps with a shotgun."

Zaeed chuckled, "I'm not surprised. I hope that bastard at least pissed himself."

The elevator opened again and Shepard came striding out. She was decked in her full armor, a brilliant display of black and red. She looked angry and dangerous. But you couldn't miss the darkness under her eyes, or the yellow sheen of her skin. She was obviously unhealthy and something was very wrong.

They all climbed into the shuttle and she started explaining about Jack. If this person was truly this powerful then yes, they needed him. Even if they were taking him from a prison ship.

"Okay, listen. I chose you two for specific reasons," she started. "I have a feeling this isn't going to go well. We need to make a good impression so we can get in and out quickly. This is _Purgatory_ so there will probably be some fucked up things happening on that ship, but we have bigger problems to worry about."

Zaeed nodded and Garrus just continued to stare at her. This wasn't like her. She usually was all about justice and helping others. What was happening to her morality?

All too soon they were docked and inside the prison. They were immediately approached by a turian guard. "Your package is being prepared but since this is a high security area, we will need you to relinquish your weapons."

Shepard just chuckled to herself. The guard looked confused and Shepard simply said, "I can't do that."

The Warden came forward and talked about 'standard procedure' all while Shepard had a growing grin on her face. "I will NOT surrender my gun. Period."

There was a long pause before the Warden waved us on, rambling about how they were more than secure enough to handle three armed 'guests'. They were just waiting for the funds to go through before they could pick up Jack and leave. The Warden demonstrated how well run his prision was. The more he talked the more uneasy Garrus felt. This was an intimidation tactic, but why would he need or want to intimidate them? Shepard asked about Jack and that caused the Warden to pause. "Cerberus didn't tell you…Jack is by far the most dangerous person here." There was actual fear in his eyes and that worried Garrus. What had they gotten into?

Soon the Warden left them to continue on their way to Jack. At one point they crossed a pair of guards beating the shit out of a prisoner, but Shepard didn't even look. The only sign she had seen it was the tightening of her grip on her gun. Zaeed hesitated slightly but then followed. Garrus stopped completely. This was wrong. The prisoner was spitting blood and teeth. He looked young. He wasn't even fighting back. It was like he had given up and just accepted his fate. Garrus opened his mouth to try and intervene.

"Vakarian MOVE! We don't have time for this."

Garrus shut his mouth and continues on. She never called him 'Vakarian'. Never. It was always 'Garrus'. Something was very wrong and he needed to fix it as soon as they got back.

Soon they were standing in a large room with a large circular door on the far side. A guard told them, "If you could please step over to that door. Jack is being transferred here. It will just take a moment."

Walking up to the door, it slipped open to reveal an empty cell. The Warden's voice came over the intercom, "I'm sorry Shepard, but you are more valuable as a prisoner. Drop your weapons and proceed into the cell."

Shepard just laughed, "Fuck off and go to hell. You know what? I'll just send you there myself."

"ACTIVATE SYSTEMS!"

Garrus dived for cover and pulled out his sniper rifle. He watched as Shepard threw out a fireball that completely incinerated the first guard. They soon fell into a rhythm. Garrus would pick off the far guards while Shepard and Zaeed destroyed the ones that slipped through the doors. Soon there was nothing but the stench of blood and burned flesh, it brought back bad memories.

"We need to find Jack now! Before they put everything into lockdown!"'

"It might be too late for that, Commander."

"Shit. Let's just keep moving."

They quickly made their way down a side hallway and found themselves in a control room. Shepard hovered over the cell block release button.

"If you press that we are going to be fighting our way through every prisoner in here," Zaeed stated.

"That's our only option! They've already put the ship in lock down. That's the only way to get Jack out." Garrus said.

"Be ready. I'm doing it." She quickly slammed her hand on the button. There were screams and yells as cells were pulled open, but the only one they were interested in was directly in front of them. The cell was pulled up and opened to reveal a small woman. She was barely clothed, with a shaved head, and tattoos running over most of her body.

Shepard's mouth opened in surprise, "Oh. That's Jack? I didn't expect a small girl…"

At that moment Jack's eyes opened and she quickly ripped off her restraints. Her blue biotics surrounded her and she let out a low, feral growl.

"I like her already," Zaeed said appreciatively.

They watched in surprise as she sliced through three mechs without breaking a sweat. Tearing holes through their middles in seconds. Before they knew it, she had blown a hole through the wall and was gone.

"Come on! We need to catch up!"

We followed her path of destruction until they ended up in a room with the Warden. He was wielding a sniper rifle and Garrus watched as he quickly blew out the brains of three inmates. Turning he fired a shot at the group. He watched as the bullet took down Shepard's shields and they all dove for cover. "You're valuable Shepard! I could have sold you and lived like a king! But you're too much trouble. At least I can capture Jack."

Shepard poked her head up. "Not happening! We don't have time for your shit!" She rolled out of cover and took a shot at his head. Her shields were still not fully charged and a guard got a shot in. Blood splattered from her back but she didn't even flinch. Garrus whipped out his rifle, lined up the shot, and fired. The guard's head exploded. Garrus started picking off the guards one by one, his mandibles tucked in in anger. Shepard was making stupid mistakes. Her reflexes were off. She shouldn't have let her shield come down at all. Fear was pooled in his stomach, the thought of her dying again put him into a battle rage.

The Warden was protected by a biotic barrier powered by three sources. As Garrus took in the weak points, he saw one of the sources explode. He also realized that Shepard was missing and then he saw her crawling on her belly towards the next source. She was once again exposing herself to the Warden's rifle. He watched as the Warden started turning towards her, but was still obviously unaware of her presence. He had to do something NOW. Stepping outside his cover, he fired directly at the Warden's head. His bullet was dissipated by the biotic shield, but it distracted the Warden long enough for Shepard to take down the second source, and crawl back into cover.

The Warden fired a quick shot that took down his shields, and knocked him backwards. He quickly rolled to his right and back behind a rock. He was stuck there for the next minute until his shields recharged. He heard a loud 'yelp' of pain and saw Shepard sprawled across the ground, blood flowing from a wound in his shoulder. The Warden lifted his gun to take the killshot. Garrus aimed and put the Warden's head in his scope. In one fluid motion, Shepard fired her shotgun and took down the last source, as Garrus fired his rifle. The Warden's head disappeared in a fountain of blood and brains. His body swayed slightly and crashed to the ground.

Shepard stood up and slammed some medi-gel on her wounds. "Let's go!" was all she said. Garrus bit his tongue to stop himself from giving a sarcastic response.

Running down the next hallway, they corned Jack right outside the docking bay. She paced restlessly, biotic power flickering up and down her arms. She acted like cornered animal: terrified and dangerous.

"What the hell do you want!?"

"My name is Shepard. I'm here to get you out of here."

"I'm not going anywhere with you. You're Cerberus."

"I'm offering to be your friend. You don't want to be my enemy." Shepard held out a hand to try and reassure her. It seemed to just irritate Jack further.

Garrus felt the situation going south quickly. Jack needed to understand the seriousness of the situation. "They have a way of dying."

Jack looked back at the ship. "You show up in Cerberus ship, and expect me to go with you? Do you think I'm stupid?"

"This ship is going down in flames. I have the only way off this ship. I'm offering to take you with me…and you're arguing with me. Really?" Irritation was abundant in Shepard's voice.

"Just shoot her. We can patch her up on the ship." Zaeed said cocking his gun.

"I'd like to see you try," Jack spit.

"It might just come to that," Shepard said as she stepped closer.

"You'll have to fucking kill me," Jack said, as she started growling. "Look, if you want me to come with you. You'll have to make it worth my time."

"What do you need? I'll do what I can for you."

"Don't lie to me. I want access to Cerberus files. I want to know what they have on me."

"You'll have full access," Shepard shrugged.

"Okay. Well why the hell are we still standing here? Oh, and if you cross me…I'll kill you."

"Welcome aboard Jack."

The ride back was full of awkward silence. As soon as we docked, Miranda was there to introduce herself to Jack. She talked about rules and order, and treated Jack like a 5 year old. Garrus walked away as soon as Jack called Miranda the 'Cerberus Cheerleader'. That was not a fight he wanted to be a part of.

He went to the communal showers and washed away the filth and guilt of battle. After returning to the Mass Battery, he began to meticulously clean his gun and armor. Soon everything was perfectly clean and organized. His mind had cleared, his anger had faded somewhat. Now all he felt was concern. Shepard didn't make stupid mistakes, but now she had been throwing herself into unnecessary danger all mission.

He walked out into the mess hall and looked for her. The hall was packed with people from the first dinner shift. He grabbed a dextro bar and quickly ate it.

Asking around he found that no one had seen her since they had returned from their mission. Mordin had shook his head when Garrus had asked, and then slid over a mug of steaming liquid.

He simply said, "She needs," and then walked away.

Walking to the corner of the room, Garrus called out, "EDI?"

"Yes, Garrus?"

"Do you know where the Commander is?"

"She took the elevator down to the Shuttle Bay two hours ago."

"Thank you." Garrus wondered what she could possibly be doing down there for so long. The gym was down there but they had just come from an intense mission. She would have been too exhausted to blow off some extra steam for two hours, especially without eating.

But that's exactly where he found her, running on the treadmill. Sweat was soaking her body, leaving it with a delightful shine. Her breathing was harsh and rigid, but her eyes were hard and determined. He gently placed the cup on the table and stood in front of the treadmill. She was staring at a spot slightly over his head and to the left, and so he moved until they locked eyes. She narrowed her gaze at him and slowed down to a walk. She opened her mouth to say something but he just shook his head. He moved over to the large mat and took a fighting stance. She looked confused so he beckoned to her. She joined him on the mat and aimed a round house kick at his head.

Chuckling, he easily blocked it, and their spar began. She was stronger than before. She kept pace with him and also took a lot of hard blows, but the pain didn't even seem to affect her…or maybe she just didn't care.

But she also had landed some well-aimed punches in his weak spots. It seemed she had studied a bit more about turian physiology. He had hoped that sparing would work out most of her anger, and leave her exhausted. Instead, it seemed to be making her worse. He had managed to cut her with his talons, and now she was freely bleeding. Her breathing was still harsh, but now she was also releasing a near inaudible growl. He needed to end this now, before she tipped over the edge into battle rage.

Garrus let her get closer to his body, and waited for her to pounce. He grabbed her wrist mid-hit and used his feet to push out her legs. Using his larger form, he pushed her quickly back until she was held against the wall. Both of her wrists were held with one of his hands and pinned above her head. His legs and knees kept her lower torso trapped beneath him. He was close enough to smell the blood and sweat, and to see the rage and fear at being in such a vulnerable position.

"Listen to me," he said, "we need to talk about Purgatory. I want to help you, Shepard." She narrowed her eyes again at him but stopped struggling. He took this as a good sign and slowly let her down.

She stood up straight and walked away. His heart sank, he had pushed her too far.

"Meet me in my cabin in 20." She said as she stepped into the elevator.

He watched the doors slowly close, and then he started pacing. He could still smell the vanilla of her hair and feel the heat of her body. Why had he pressed her to the wall? He should have just flipped her to the ground and stunned her. She had been vulnerable and afraid, and now his blood was hot and pulsing.

He continued to pace until his eyes fell on the still steaming mug. Now he an excuse to go up early. He paced as the elevator went up and he paced in the hallway outside her room. Finally he knocked, and waited. There was no answer. He tried the door and found it unlocked. He walked in and found her cabin empty, but he was able to pick up the steady 'thrum' of the shower.

He sat down to wait.

She came out in a couple of minutes smelling of vanilla and heat. His blood started pumping again and he found it hard to swallow. She seemed confused when she saw him, but quickly hid it under a neutral mask. She seemed cautious of him, and so he held out the mug. "Mordin said you needed this."

She reached out and took it. Her fingers were trembling slightly. Her face was lined with exhaustion, her skin uneven and yellow. She looked like she had aged years in the last week. Her eyes were bloodshot and wide. If he didn't know her, he'd have thought she'd gone insane. Her lips were chapped and bleeding from her nervous biting.

She didn't even look like Shepard anymore, just an empty broken shell. Had she always looked like this or was he just really seeing her for the first time? She gulped down the rest of her drink and looked back up at him.

"Shepard…" she just continued to give him that blank stare. "Jane…" Now, that got her attention. "I want to talk about Purgatory. There were some risks you took that were completely unnecessary. If I hadn't been there, you would be dead right now."

"Garrus, I got the job done. We have the best biotic in the fucking galaxy because I completed the mission," she said, crossing her arms.

"That's not good enough! Snap out of it Jane! Look at the bigger picture. Do you really think we are going to be able to do this without you? There is no one alive that has the leadership skills or qualities you have. Why the fuck do you think Cerberus brought you back? Not for your looks, but for the innate ability you have to bring everyone together. And that almost ended today, when some lowlife almost put a bullet through your head."

"Garrus, you don't know what it's like…"

"NO! YOU don't know what it's like! I went to your fucking funeral. I stood between Kaiden and Liara as they read off your many accomplishments, and you became just another name on a plaque. I stood there as everyone talked about what a great job you did saving the Citadel, and how you would be missed…blah, blah. You were gone. Your legacy became just a name and a sentence in the history books. The best human I've ever known, just ash floating in the universe. The sad part is, I thought it couldn't get worse after that…but then everyone started saying you were crazy. That the reaper's weren't real, EVEN THOUGH ONE CRASHED AND DIED ON THE CITADEL. Everything everyone was saying about you became so ridiculous I had to escape. I lost touch with our old team and ditched my name. Everything I did, I did to preserve how you should have been remembered."

"I'm not that person anymore. I'm not even technically human anymore. I can hear the machine in me ticking away as I sleep. What if I'm being controlled by Cerberus? What if I fuck up and we all die?"

Garrus dropped to his knees in front of her. "Jane look at me." He locked eyes with her, and he found nothing but true fear and agony there. "You are not alone in this. I will always have your six, and you will NOT fuck this up. Do you even know how to fail at things? Looking at you, I see the same warrior who took down Saren, and told the Council to go fuck themselves. Don't you dare doubt yourself now, because you are so much better than this. And I'll be here every step of the way."

She was looking down at the floor, when suddenly she wrapped her arms around his neck. Everything was vanilla and warmth again, and his arms instinctively pulled her closer.

"Thank you, Garrus. I needed that. Everything is just so different now. I still can't believe it's been 2 years…I'm sorry about everything."

"Stop apologizing. It doesn't suit you."

She laughed, "You're right it doesn't. The words felt weird leaving my mouth."

"So what's next, Commander?"

"We are going to catch ourselves a Krogan."

"Oh, joy….At least tell me it's Wrex?"

"Nope. We're getting a new krogan. A scientist krogan."

Garrus sighed and shook his head.

"Don't be like that, you'll love it. Danger, excitement, and lots of enemies to put your bullets in."

"Just like old times." He reached down and squeezed her shoulder. "Good night, Shepard."

"Good night Garrus," she whispered as she watched him leave.


	6. The Warlord

I awoke with a start and clamped my jaw shut to keep the screams building in my throat at bay. A couple of harsh breaths later, my heartrate started to slow. The nightmares were still haunting me. But I was slowly growing used to the terror. I had trained myself to not wake up screaming.

I laid there staring out the skylight, like I did every night, and wished there was a solution to my problem. I had broken down a couple days ago and gone to Dr. Chakwas for anything that would make me sleep more than an hour or two at a time. The result had been disastrous. The medication caused me to not wake up from my nightmare at all. Instead of a jolt of fear to get me up, I was put through the prolonged torture of watching my body rot and crumble and I was left staring at the gleaming machine I truly was inside. When the medication finally wore off I rolled out of bed and vomited on the floor, the stench of rot and decay still in my senses. I never took the medication again. No sleep was infinitely better than living my worst fears over and over again.

I grew restless staring at the expanse of space, but I tried to force my body still. I needed to gain control of myself, too many lives depended on me. But everywhere I looked there was a reminder of my death and the sacrifice I volunteered for.

I wished that we were docked somewhere so that I had somewhere unfamiliar to roam. Back on Earth I always had the slums of New York City. My family grew up on the streets, finding enough to eat was always the problem. My earliest memories were of my mother turning a trick to feed my sister and me. I was too young to understand the motions and purpose as the stranger laid on top of her, but I did recognize the feral grunt he released. It was sound of need and possession, and it had scared me. I had whimpered quietly, but my mother had heard me. She had given me a long, cold glare that was full of fear. It was my earliest introduction to terror, and later, acceptance as I began to understand how the world worked.

My parents were intelligent, but that didn't matter in the New York underworld. They always played the same game. My mother would fuck them, and after the man rolled off of her exhausted and spent, my father would appear and beat the shit out of them. We would rob them blind and leave them to bleed in whatever shithole we lived in at the time.

When I turned 13, my mother came home with two men, I was stupid to not have understood what was expected of me. I struggled at first, and it wasn't until I was pinned to the floor that I understood there was no one all who would help me. This was the world. I stopped struggling and started to accept that I would have to wait for it to be over. I thought that I had given up, it wasn't until I was staring at an unfocused point of space above his greasy, grunting head that I suddenly found myself again. I sat up grabbed a hold of the man's ear with my teeth and bit it off. Blood had run down my face and throat but I was free. Only anger fueled my struggle. I could not accept my existence of grunting monsters, I had to claw my way back to life.

The man screamed as he saw me smiling with his bloody ear in my teeth, and then he beat me unconscious.

I awoke the next morning to find my family gone, and the two men dead in the corner.

From that moment on I was on my own, and I found I liked it. I felt no sense of loss for my family. They had ceased to exist in my mind. I found random ways to make money after that, but I never allowed a man to touch me, unless it was on my terms.

Most nights I had ended up wandering through the abandoned streets. Shifting from shadow to shadow I truly felt at home. It was comforting to get lost in the endless twists and turns. I felt safe wandering because it gave me the illusion of invisibility, like if I walked enough distance I would find a safe haven in the ruins.

But eventually wandering grew tiresome, so I enlisted. I found the order the military provided just as comforting, the lack of isolation was confusing but astounding. I did well for myself and quickly rose through the ranks as time went on.

Sighing, I decided I needed a hobby. This much restless thinking was going to drive me even more insane.

I got up and decided to go find something to eat. Walking through to the mess hall, everything was quiet and dark. The Normandy was different at night. With only a handful of people up to run her she was eerily empty. It was like I could hear the life force of the ship. There was the 'thrum' of the engines, which vibrated through the air. Placing my hand on the walls it felt like I could hear her breathe. I understood why Joker always referred to the Normandy as a 'she'. The ship really was alive if you listened closely enough.

I walked up and rummaged through the cabinets until I found a random assortment of human food. I never learned to cook, so making my own meal often consisted of throwing random things together and hoping for the best. Soon my dinner started burning so I plopped it on a plate and sat down.

I ate slowly, staring off into space, trying to clear my aching head. Soon I was lost in thought. A movement in my peripherals caught my attention, and I found Mordin sitting across from me.

He slid me a mug of tea and said, "Morning."

"Why are you up Mordin?"

He shrugged, "Need less sleep than more organics. Quite convenient."

They fell into a comfortable silence. "I never thanked you," I said pointing at the tea. "It really helps me, especially at night."

"Yet, you're not sleeping."

"I said it helps, not that it fixed me."

"Hmm…curious. If increase the melatonin rate to directly adhere to brain and blood stream…no, might cause comatose state…Maybe add serotonin inhibitors to increase mood, could cause correlation with relaxation…" Mordin rambled on.

Laughing I said, "Mordin you can experiment all you want. If it will help me sleep, I'll do anything you tell me to do. Just don't kill me."

A large grin broke out across his face, "You need copulation."

I gave him a blank stare.

"You need to get laid."

I burst out laughing, at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. "I don't think I'm too lucky in that department. I thought salarians didn't participate in much sex."

"We don't. Don't need. Find knowledge a more satisfactory release. Humans display a need to dominate and be dominated in physical sense, not intellectually. Don't fully understand purpose, but sex will help you release tension."

"Sure thing, Mordin. I'll find myself a nice pretty human boy next time we dock at the Citadel."

"Could also find asari… Or turian, although you better ask me first. Possible allergy problem. Plus, physiological differences."

Laughing I said, "Asari is not to my preference, and I really don't think turians find humans attractive. Something about a lack of fringe and our wider waists…"

"Garrus might be-"

I choked and spit my tea across the table at him before he could finish his sentence. Coughing, I said, "I REALLY don't think Garrus would be interested in a human partner. I've seen him make a fool of himself in front of a few too many turian women to believe he'd be interested in a cross-species sexual encounter."

Mordin just smirked and continued drinking his tea. Finally, after a couple minutes of silence he said, "Want to go. To Korlus, to find Dr. Okeer."

I was surprised. "Why? You helped create the genophage. Why would you want to help us find a doctor trying to cure it?"

"Krogan doctors and scientists are rare. Am curious. Want to see how they handle experimentation when violence is innate. Want to understand why trying to cure genophage."

"You don't understand why the krogan are trying to save themselves?"

"Understand the reasoning. Don't understand how they believe it's a good thing to be cured."

"Their people are dying out, Mordin. They are burying their unborn children, having to watch the few children who do live brought up in a war torn wasteland. I don't agree with the way their people are scattered and killing each other. But you have to be able to understand the desperation they must feel seeing child after child being buried."

"Yes, understand desperation. Without genophage krogan would have populated too quickly! Would have needed more and more space. Naturally violent creatures in small areas will always equal death. Would have destroyed galaxy. Salarian involvement in culture ruined krogan. Gave too advanced technology to too primitive of a civilization. Created genophage to stop potential destruction of galaxy. Created genophage to fix mistakes."

There was a slight desperation in his expression, but mostly determination and acceptance. "If I let you go and Dr. Okeer is close to a cure, will you do anything to interfere?"

He was silent for a moment. "Don't know what reaction would be. Just want to understand why."

I sighed, "Okay you can go. But if you disobey my orders…I will shoot you. We don't need to piss off the krogan along with the collectors and reapers."

"Understood." Mordin got up and walked away, leaving me alone to wait for morning.

* * *

><p>The air was thick with sweat and blood. Garrus tried to adjust his armor. It was slightly askew from the constant diving he kept having to do. It was his lucky day, there were a lot of snipers here, and unfortunately he made a much bigger target than Shepard or Mordin.<p>

Korlus was dry and hot. They had expected the Blue Suns but they hadn't expected to be dropped right in the middle of their training ground. Jedore kept screaming through the speakers and her voice was like glass in his brain.

He kept an eye on Shepard this mission and she was behaving more like herself. She took the time to be calculating and not impulsive, but she wasn't afraid to bring out her sharp side as well. That poor Blue Sun solider they had come across. He was badly injured, but it wasn't life threatening. He was obviously new to battle and made the unfortunate mistake of pissing Shepard off. She had turned to Garrus with a smirk and wink, and then widened her grin into a psychotic look. Leaning down she got within inches of the poor boy's face, still with the biggest grin he'd ever seen, and then whispered, "Do you really want to fuck with me?"

The boys eyes had gone wide, "N-no."

"No what?" She had whispered leaning on his injured leg.

The boy's eyes were wild with pain and fear. "No, ma'am," he said as he pissed himself.

"Uh, oh. Looks like you made a mess." The boy started hyperventilating with fear and then finally passed out from it all.

Chuckling, she said, "Take his radio and leave him a med-gel. He shouldn't have ever joined the Blue Suns. I think he knows that now."

"Should think so." Mordin said as he smashed the radio.

Every twist and turn had them to Blue Suns and krogan. They were cautious but the training area had plenty of higher ground. Bullets were constantly taking down their shields as they were fired and sniped from above. Garrus worked quickly but he couldn't reload fast enough to constantly keep them safe. Soon they had several bruises and shallow wounds.

Just when they were getting fatigued and the end of their med-gel supply they rounded a corner to find an armored krogan standing in an abandoned courtyard. Through this whole fight there had been something off about the krogan. It wasn't until they found this solitary soldier that Garrus figured it out. During the fighting the krogan made absolutely no sound, even as they bled out and died. With one he had even botched the headshot and shot through the neck instead. Blood had poured out and the krogan should have gurgled, or clutched at his throat, done something. Instead, he had simply fallen over and died in agonizing silence.

Even now, as they approached the courtyard, this krogan remained perfectly still, and made no reaction to their arrival.

Garrus reached forward and clutched Shepard's shoulder. "Be careful. Something is very wrong here."

"I can feel it too. Guns at the ready." With a small smile she said, "Watch my six?"

Garrus smirked, "Like you even need to ask."

They got closer and closer to the krogan, but it still did nothing. Finally, when they were close enough to touch it, the krogan turned slowly towards them. Garrus readied his gun and placed his finger on the trigger. Shepard held her arms out to convey peace, but the krogan didn't respond.

Just as the silence began to get awkward he finally spoke. "What are you? Your presence has cut through the red haze, and I'm inclined to speak. 7 days of blood lust but you….you smell different."

Shepard frowned, "Where are you from?"

"The glass mother."

Shepard glanced at Mordin to see if he understood, but he just shook his head. "Do you know where Dr. Okeer is?"

"He was the voice in my head."

Mordin hummed, "Interesting. Shepard I think this krogan is 7 days old."

"What? How is that possible?"

The krogan cocked his head, "I was created."

Garrus lowered his gun, "I think the 'glass mother' means a tank. I believe this krogan and all the other krogan on this planet were created instead of born."

"Yes. Glass mother," the krogan said.

"What is your purpose? Why were you created?" Shepard asked.

"Bred to fight…to kill. The voice…father taught me many things. But I am imperfect."

"Why aren't you perfect?"

"The voice said so… it was disappointed."

"Can you take us to the voice?"

"No. But I will point you to the way." The krogan turned around and tore a large chunk of metal off the wall. Behind it was a tunnel.

"Seems Okeer using control groups to cure genophage. Trying to create krogan from scratch with immunity to genophage! But…not working," Mordin whispered to Shepard.

She turned back to the krogan, "Are you coming with us?"

"No. I am imperfect. I must stay here."

Garrus took the rear, and turned to watch the krogan as they walked into the tunnel. The krogan stood with his gun ready, waiting to fight and die.

The waves of mercs seemed endless after the tunnel. Garrus found himself shooting around corners, above their heads, as well as watching their six, all while trying to keep an eye on Shepard. She was starting to lose the fluidity of her movements, revealing her exhaustion. They scavenged bodies they had shot down, looking for heat sinks and med-gel. Anything that would get them to Okeer faster.

Finally, after running up endless stairs they reached a door that didn't have the sounds of gun fire ringing out behind it. Inside was a familiar asari surrounded by krogan bodies. The whole thing was ominous and it took Garrus a minute to place her.

Rana Thanuptis.

The scientist from Virmire. The one Shepard told to run and NOT get involved with evil experimentation again. Judging by the coldness in Shepard's eyes, she definitely remembered Rana.

Leaning causually against the desk. Shepard said, "Rana. Funny running into you here. I thought I told you to stay out of trouble."

Rana looked a little worried. "I am! The work we are doing here is good! Dr. Okeer is a genius."

Shepard started playing with her gun, "Can you tell me what Dr. Okeer's work is?"

"He's trying to unite the krogan! He's found a way to create fully formed krogan in a tank. We can even influence their development through selective information and positive reinforcement. Jedore thinks that we're building an army for her, but Okeer doesn't give a shit about her. Our work here could bring back the krogan population."

Shepard just shook her head, "You really should stay out of trouble."

Rana started backing up, "Yes, I promise. Now I'm going to get out of here before you blow this place up too." She turned and started to briskly walk away.

Shepard slowly raised her pistol and shot Rana in the back of the head. Rana crumpled to the ground, a look of surprise frozen on her face. "I'm sorry, but you don't get any more chances," she said to the body. "Especially after Ashley didn't even get a first."

Mordin nodded, "She knew too much, especially with such a volatile demeanor."

Pushing through the next door, they found a make-shift lab. Tables were piled high with different metallic instruments. Along one wall was a row of glass tanks. Each was filled with a yellow liquid and one tank contained a krogan. Standing next to this tank was an older krogan.

"Dr. Okeer?" Shepard asked.

"Yes? Oh good you're finally here. We need to get out of here soon." Okeer continued to ignore them, as he inputted variable after variable into the monitors in front of him. Mordin's eyes followed the calculations with excitement, and he started mumbling to himself.

"Uh, you know who we are?" Shepard asked.

"Of course I do," he said turning around. "Every krogan knows your face. Especially after Virmire and Saren's cure. Your decision to blow up that particular cure has made you quite unpopular with the krogan. Rest assured, everyone knows your name and face."

Shepard tensed. "Oh, I'm sure you would have done something different. I was in a tight situation, I did what I had to. I wish things would have been different, but I wasn't given a choice."

"I understand. I would have done the same thing. That cure came with the price of being mindless slaves under Saren's rule."

Shepard just stared at him in surprise.

"Why would I want the cure with such a sacrifice? The work I'm doing now will fix that. My krogan are better at fighting. They make no reaction to pain and have no fear. My krogan represent the best of our race. The cure won't matter once I have an army of such perfection. My krogan will crawl over the bodies of the dead, and once again we will be a powerful force. The genophage has just exploited our weakness but we will overcome."

Garrus shook his head, "And how is this different? You still have mindless krogan but they're controlled by a krogan megalomaniac instead of an indoctrinated turian."

"You don't understand, Turian," Okeer growled, "My people are warriors and now, because of the genophage, we are only renowned for our weakness. This is the greatest insult to my kind. I will create a new hierarchy of krogan, and it will be a dawning of blood and revolution."

"Interesting philosophy. Incorrect, but intriguing," Mordin mused, "what has experimentation propagated?"

Okeer reached out and gently stroked the nearest glass tube, "This."

Looking into the tube Garrus saw a krogan. It looked like any other krogan except it was off color and slightly smaller in size.

"This is my prototype. This is the savior to our race. He was created from the greatest krogan who have ever lived. He will be the strongest and greatest of all krogan."

Shepard looked at the krogan suspiciously, as if expecting it to break forth and announce itself. "It was rumored you used Collector technology to create these krogan. Is that true?"

Garrus leaned in closer. If that were true then Okeer could help them find the Collectors. This could be the advantage they needed to defeat the Collectors and get one step closer to the Reapers.

Dr Okeer shrugged, "Yes. The Collectors were a quiet bunch. They did not—"

Okeer was interrupted by a loud bang from the factory below. Running to the windows, they found Jedore had released all of the failed krogan prototypes.

"Okeer, this ends here," She said through her radio. "I know you released your krogan on my men. You were supposed to make me an unstoppable army! Now my men are being slaughtered! Consider your experimentation over." She slammed her hand on the control panel. Okeer started yelling at her to stop.

"Shepard, you must stop her! She's releasing toxins into my experiements! She will destroy all my work!" He ran over to his prototype and put one hand on the glass. His other hand started typing commands into his monitor. "HURRY!"

Garrus took the lead again as they sprinted through the door and down the stairs. Entering the room they found a horde of mindless krogan, with Jedore in the middle. The krogan started pulling out rocket launchers and Garrus's face started to ache.

Shepard focused on Jedore while he and Mordin picked off the krogan. After the long stretch of fighting they endured to reach Okeer Garrus could feel his muscles locking up, and judging by the delayed reaction times of his teammates, they were feeling it too.

The battle was tough and the environment made it easy for the enemies to hide. Garrus glanced at Shepard to find that she had Jedore cornered, and was using her shotgun to blast holes through her armor. Jedore fell to the ground bleeding, and Garrus watched in horror as a krogan aimed his rocket launcher at Shepard's back. He picked up his gun for the kill, but found he was out of ammo. Sprinting across the room, Garrus grabbed Shepard around her middle, hit the ground, and rolled. She was positioned on his lap, with his arms wrapped tight around her, offering what little protection he could. Garrus had managed to roll them behind a small barrier. Shepard started struggling not understanding what was happening.

"Stay down! Stop moving!" He growled at her.

She opened her mouth to protest, but a series of rockets slammed into their small barrier before she could speak. Garrus could feel the heat from the blast on the back of his neck, and he could see how unstable their barrier was. "So when can I stop saving your ass?" he asked.

"I don't know Garrus, you make a pretty solid shield," she said knocking her fist on his armor.

They both jumped when Mordin came around the corner. "Can come out. Krogan dead."

Standing up Shepard said, "Well let's—"

"Shepard," EDI interrupted, "toxins were released in Okeer's lab. His life signs are fading. I advise you to hurry."

"Damn," that was all she said as they sprinted back up the stairs. Inside the lab they found Okeer lying on the ground, he was dead.

"Must have released toxins into the room. Saved prototype. Killed himself instead. Admirable. Died for his work," Mordin said.

Shepard walked around the room and stood in front of the glass tank.

Garrus shook his head, "Don't even think about it. That thing is dangerous. If it was created from the best krogan that lived, then it's going to have a higher disposition for violence than a normal krogan."

"Mordin, what do you think?" she said turning towards the salarian.

"Garrus's conclusion logical…but improbable. Didn't know deceased krogan. Could have been leaders instead of warriors. Too valuable to leave behind. Turian prone to biases."

"Excuse me, _salarian_. You helped create the genophage, and yet you claim you're unbiased," Garrus growled. His talons clenched into fists as he tried to control his anger.

"Did not. Just pointed out yours." Mordin countered.

Garrus's growl grew in volume as his stature increased. Mordin just looked at him with a bored expression.

Shepard stepped between the two. "Enough! I'm sorry Garrus, but I agree with Mordin on this one. This prototype is way too valuable to pass up." She pulled out her radio. "Joker, we're ready for pick up. And we've got a big package."

Joker snickered in the mic, "Aye, aye."

Garrus walked past them and went outside to wait for the shuttle. Shepard moved to go after him, but Mordin grabbed her arm. "Wait. Not advisable to approach yet."

"Mordin, why did you work him up?"

"Did not want to anger. Wanted to make point," he said with a shrug.

Shepard stared at him a long time. "You just want to experiment on the krogan, don't you?"

Mordin grinned. "Yes."

Laughing, Shepard clapped him on the shoulder. "Well, come on."

They went outside and joined Garrus waiting for Joker descended.

* * *

><p>Getting the krogan back on the ship wasn't easy, but with enough men it was possible. They got the krogan down into one of the storage holds in the very bottom of the ship. I had everyone clear the room and then went and stood before the tank. I placed one hand on the glass and found it surprisingly warm.<p>

"You're about to do something dangerous and stupid again aren't you?"

Turning around I found Garrus leaning casually against the wall. He looked tired and pissed. "We need this krogan. If he's as great as Okeer said he was, then he could be a HUGE asset for us. He might even be able to get the rest of the krogan on our side."

Garrus pushed off the wall and got closer to me. He was shaking from exhaustion and anger. "We don't need them! They are just going to cause trouble for us in the long run."

"Don't be stupid! They are the best warriors in the galaxy and our best chance at fighting the reapers. The only problem is that they hate the rest of the galaxy. Aside from Wrex have you ever met a krogan who looked at you with anything but disdain? It's time to put an end to old prejudices and unite so we can save our asses!"

Garrus sighed and unclenched his fists. "I know you're right… But Shepard, you've got to stop doing everything alone. You're going to get yourself killed before the battle even starts."

"I didn't realize you were so worried about me, Garrus." I teased.

He tensed again and gave me an intense stare. "Well, I am. You're the best chance we have. You better believe I'm going to be protecting you every step of the way."

I was surprised at his intensity, but then again Garrus had always cared a little more than everyone else. "I know you've always got my six, and I appreciate that." I said placing my hand on his arm.

He stared at me unblinking. Swallowing slowly he opened his mouth to speak, but abruptly closed it again. I looked at him in confusion. Finally he said, "Let's crack open this krogan."

I grinned and jumped up to the tank. "EDI, please release the prototype."

"Yes, Commander."

The tank slowly slid open. Krogan and liquid came sloshing out. Before the krogan hit the floor he caught himself on his arms. Moving faster than I anticipated, he grabbed me by the throat and pinned me to the wall. I grabbed my pistol just as quick and pushed it into his stomach. I raised my other arm to stop Garrus from putting a bullet into the back of the krogan's skull.

"A name. I need a name before I kill you." His voice was raspy and deep.

"I'm Jane Shepard. Commander of the Normandy," I said.

"Not yours, human. Mine."

I was surprised. "Didn't Okeer give you a name?"

"Okeer was just a voice in my head. Warlord…legacy…grunt. Grunt has no meaning. I chose that."

"Okay Grunt. I'm offering you a place on my team."

"Offering is weak," he spat, "Why should I follow you? I am perfection of my race and should have no leader."

He started squeezing my throat harder and I could feel my larynx start to crush. I knew showing weakness would be the death of me, and so I stared unblinking into his eyes while I squeezed the trigger of my gun. The shot sank into his plated skin, surprising him, and he dropped me. I wasted no time and emptied my clip directly into him. "Let me rephrase that, Grunt," I said over the pain in my throat, "you are going to join my team and help us stop the Collectors."

Chuckling, Grunt said, "Shepard, you DO have guts. I like it. You are a worthy Commander."

"Welcome aboard." I said shaking his hand. "I'll let you get settled in."

I left the room with Garrus trailing behind me. "That went better than expected," I said cheerfully, turning to look at him.

He gave me a hard look. "You should probably get that looked at," he said pointing at my neck.

"That bad, huh?"

He nodded.

"Alright, let's head up there." We stepped into the elevator and waited as it went up. It kept going up and passed the floor with the Med-bay. "Uh, EDI? Why are we still going up?"

"The Illusive Man wishes to speak to you. It is of the highest priority."

I huffed, "Of course it is…." I shook my head. "Sorry Garrus. I'll meet up with you in a bit. Duty calls." Whenever the Illusive Man came up, I found myself getting more and more pissed off.

Stepping off the elevator I went to the communication room. Soon I found myself starting into the starlit void. The Illusive Man smiled at me and continued to smoke his cigarette. "This doesn't seem extremely urgent," I said, attempting to patronize him.

His smile just widened. "Shepard, I have your next mission. We just lost communication with a small human colony occupying the planet Horizon. I want you to investigate. I believe the Collectors are responsible."

I felt a flare of anger. "This seems like unnecessary danger. There is no way you could know it is the Collectors without communication with the planet."

"This is what we brought you back for! You need to get to the planet and find out everything you can about the Collectors. This is the first time we have found out about the attack before it was over! This is the best chance we've gotten!"

"Wait, the attack is happening NOW? Damn, we need to help those people."

His smile widened even further. "Oh and Shepard? I thought you should know… Kaiden Alenko is one of the soldiers stationed on Horizon."

I felt my insides turn cold as fear and hope overtook me. Kaiden was in danger and needed me… us. The Illusive Man disconnected and left me staring at the blank wall of the communications room. I hoped that Mordin had figured out how to get past the seeker swarms.

"Joker?" I said.

"Yes, Commander?"

"Set a course for Horizon. We are going after some Collectors. And Kadien is there….so step on it."

There was a pause. "Kaiden? How does he always get in the worst trouble?"

"You can ask him when we get there."

I went to go find Mordin and Garrus. I just hoped we weren't too late. Kaiden was one hell of a solider and a good friend. Since being brought back from the dead, I tried contacting him since he was the only one from the old team that still had the same contact info. But he never responded to any of my messages.

Now, it was time to save his ass and get him back on the team.


	7. Harbinger

Chapter 6: Harbinger

After Shepard marched into the communications Room, Garrus wandered up to talk to Joker. They hadn't spoken since Garrus had been brought on the ship, and he felt he had a lot to apologize for. He found Joker arguing with EDI.

"Do you always have to do everything the Illusive Man says?" Joker asked.

"I have been programed with shackles that keep my decision making to a minimum. The Illusive Man commands me to do what will best assist the Normandy and its crew."

"What if we are attacked and you are able to save the ship, but the Illusive Man commands you not to?"

"The likelihood of that occurrence is statistically low, considering how many resources were put into this ship and Shepard."

"So you're saying I can't count on you to save our asses if I'm incapacitated."

"That would depend on the situation, Joker."

"Those are hollow words, AI."

Garrus chuckled, "Having fun teasing the machine?"

Joker turned to face Garrus, "I would if it knew what a joke was…"

There was an awkward silence while they stared at each other. Garrus was aware of the lines and dark circles that made Joker's face look so worn, and Joker was focused on the scar that marred Garrus's face.

"Look, Joker… I'm not great at these things, but I want to apologize for the way I handled things back on the Citadel. When you told me about the Normandy and Shepard…I lost my shit. I didn't really blame you, I just needed to blame _someone. _It wasn't right for me, and it's obvious you went through your own hell between then and now. I'm sorry for what part I played in that."

Joker grinned at him. "It's okay big guy. I apologize for telling everyone you have a stick up your ass. I'd say we're even."

Garrus held out his hand and Joker shook it in friendship. "Well that explains why everyone on this ship seems so weird. They all snicker at me, or act like I'm going to snap and murder them…."

They both started laughing, but were interrupted by Shepard's voice coming through Joker's radio. "_Joker_?" She sounded strained and really angry.

"Yes, Commander?"

"Set a course for Horizon. We are going after some Collectors. And Kaidens there, so step on it."

Garrus and Joker looked at each other in shock. Kaiden was there? The same Kaiden that chose the Alliance over the truth and Shepard's legacy? Garrus started grinding his fangs as his blood started boiling.

"Kaiden? How does he always get in the worst trouble?" Joker asked.

"You can ask him when we get there."

Joker turned to look at Garrus. "She doesn't know, does she?"

Garrus shook his head. "She knows he turned his back on her to stay with the Alliance, but I don't think she knows about the speeches he made condemning her name. Or the man hunt he started again Cerberus."

"This could be bad. Really bad. Keep an eye on her….. Actually, you better keep an eye on Kaiden. If she knew the full extent of his betrayal, she'd be going down there to kill him, not to save him."

Garrus laughed, "Good point. Who knows, they were pretty close before… maybe seeing her alive will knock some sense back into him."

"We can only hope. Keep her safe." Joker turned back around to face his control panel.

"I always will."

Garrus finally found her in the tech lab with Mordin. She was pacing, while angrily slathering ointment onto her bruised throat. Mordin just continued to rattle on about why his invention for the seeker swarms _should _work.

"Mordin, I just want to hear that it WILL work," she said while she still anxiously paced.

"Cannot say for sure. Has not been in test environment. Should take me with, just in case," he said hopefully.

"I know how badly you want to see the Collectors first hand, but I need you here in case it does go wrong. We need someone alive to fix it."

"Logical point. Will stay here." Mordin said.

Garrus followed Shepard as they left the lab. "Shepard, there's something you should know—"

"I'm sorry Garrus but there isn't any time. I'm bringing you and Jack, my best fighters. It's going to be bloody down there. Go get ready. We're almost there. We leave in 10."

The shuttle ride down to Horizon was tense. Jack's nervous energy had her bouncing her legs up and down, while Shepard sat perfectly still, without a single twitch. Garrus fell somewhere in the middle. Both of the girls' unnatural behavior made him nervous and he felt they were approaching some kind of appending doom. Shepard's expression was solemn and he had no idea what she was thinking. He knew that she had tried to reach Kaiden multiple times after her resurrection. He also remembered a couple mornings when they had been chasing Saren that Kaiden had stumbled out of her quarters looking a little ruffled. Whether their relationship had been emotional or sexual, he couldn't say. It couldn't have meant much to Kaiden if he had written her off so quickly after her death. But then again, Garrus have never understood the complex, manipulative nature of human romance.

Landing on Horizon, Shepard led the way through the desolate buildings. Everything was empty, and it left all the team members unsettled and on edge. The seeker swarms buzzed around them, but left them unharmed. They all sighed with relief that Mordin's invention had worked.

Jack couldn't keep still, soon her biotics were glowing blue up her arms as she struggled for control. "Where the fuck is everybody?" she finally whispered.

"I don't know, but keep quiet. We aren't alone here," Shepard whispered back.

They went through, building after building. There were signs of life everywhere: a broken dish, a meal that was still warm, an overturned table…but there were no humans to be found. They entered a small courtyard, when Shepard held up her fist motioning them to stop. She slowly pulled out her shotgun and flipped off the safety. Garrus pulled out his assault rifle and Jack's biotics started glowing brighter.

With a loud roar they found themselves surrounded by husks. Jack started tearing through the crowd, leaving bloody chunks of flesh in her wake. Garrus and Shepard both backed up until they were standing back to back. Using each other for support they blasted each husk to bloody pulp.

After the horde had stopped amassing, Shepard bend down to examine one of the husks. She looked disgusted by what she saw. "They're different," she said looking at Garrus. "What's different about them?"

Garrus bent down to the husk closest to him. It looked relatively the same as the ones they'd encountered fighting Saren, but she was right…something was off about it. Finally it hit him. "It's the smell." He leaned closer and sniffed. "Smell that? The ones from fighting Saren smelled like blood from being impaled on those alters. These smell almost like rot…as if they were starting to decay."

Shepard visibly paled. "I think these husks were created a while ago. Which probably means these were some of the humans the Collectors have been taking. They probably have a small army of them by now. Keep your eyes open. These things like to grab you from unlikely places, and Horizon is probably crawling with them." She stood up and they followed her around the corner to find the next big mystery.

Standing in the open space before them were large unknown creatures. They were slightly larger than a male human, with a hard exoskeleton structure. They had long sharp talons in place of fingers, and a large armored head with multiple eyes. As they stared, one extended wings from its back and flew up and behind cover.

"They look like fucking bugs?!" Jack shouted.

"Judging by the guns in their hands, it's safe to assume we're looking at the Collectors," Garrus guessed.

The Collectors continued to stare at them until one of them lifted slowly off the ground. Its body started thrashing and shaking violently as it clicked in pain. "**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**," the Collector shouted as cracks formed and glowed red across its body. It landed back on its feet and still glowing, turned to the team. "Shepard…" it rasped and started sprinting towards them. Jack jumped in front, her biotics ready, but the Collector was faster. It shot out its own biotics and slammed Jack hard against the wall. She crumpled to the ground and lay still. Shepard made a choking noise of fear in her throat and raised her shotgun. Garrus and Shepard fired repeatedly into the Collector but most of their bullets bounced harmlessly off its shielded skim. It continued to advance.

Without warning, Garrus found himself picked up into the air and thrown 20 feet away. He landed hard on his back and felt the air rush out of him. Struggling to breathe he sat up. The Collector was only 5 feet away from Shepard and moving quickly. She was still shooting her gun, but it wasn't doing enough damage. The Collector reached her. She reeled back and slammed the butt of her gun into the side of the creature's head. It fell back from the blow and Shepard proceeded to shoot it point blank in the face, successfully blowing its head off.

There was a moment of silence until they head, "**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**" again. Garrus whipped out his sniper and shot the Collector in the head before it could finish its transformation. The next few minutes were a flurry of action as Garrus targeted and killed each glowing Collector, while Shepard took out the rest.

They met in the middle of the bloodied courtyard.

"What the hell was that?" Jack said as Shepard applied med-gel to her wounds. "The Collector was STRONG. And it had biotics."

Garrus looked at Shepard. She was pale and looked scared. "It also knew your name… It knew who we were."

"I think—"she hesitated, "I think that was a Reaper."

"That makes sense. If the Collectors are working for the Reapers then they are most likely indoctrinated. But it seems that their technology has advanced if they can directly control the physical form instead of just influencing the mental," Garrus speculated, "I wonder if it's only effective against the Collectors or if they are taking the humans to experiment on them. If they can gain control physically and mentally of the humans without turning them into husks, then we're all fucked."

Shepard nodded in agreement. "I think it's more complicated than that. I wish I had brought Mordin now. He might have been able to understand this process better."

Jack just said, "Let's hurry and get the fuck out of here. I am NOT becoming an experiment again."

"We've got to find the colonists. Let's move quickly. Garrus fall behind. I want you to kill anything that starts a transformation." He nodded. "Jack, you and I will just kill everything else. As fast as possible. Just don't do anything stupid."

Jack laughed, "Right boss. Let's go kill shit."

They moved quickly and quietly. The Collectors were everywhere, but luckily they were stealthy and Horizon had a lot of coverage available. Everywhere they went the Reapers taunted them with a cry of "**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**". Garrus was able to skillfully take out each Collector before the transformation took place, but their luck could only last so long.

They were fighting off the Collectors but their enemies were getting smarter. They used the husks as a frontal assault and distraction as the rest of the horde surrounded them.

Garrus heard the tell-tale scream of a Collector transforming, but the Collector was not in sight. He desperately tried to find a better viewpoint but he was being overwhelmed by the husks. "Shepard, I couldn't get that one," he said into the radio.

"Understood." She moved into a better defensive position and Jack stayed close to fend off the husks that _just kept coming. _She was helping Jack finish off the husks when four Collectors rushed them. "Garrus!" she yelled in panic.

He shot through the wall of husks and got closer. Switching to his sniper he shot down two of the Collectors, but he wasn't fast enough to get the Reaper controlled one. It once again blasted through Jack's barriers, knocking her out of the battle. The Collector grabbed Shepard and twisted her around, knocking the gun from her hands. She struggled relentlessly, but the Collector was much stronger.

Just as she was starting to panic it spoke. "I am the Harbinger of your perfection." Its voice was deep and raspy. "You will know pain, Shepard." Garrus saw her eyes go wide in fear as Harbinger plunged its talons through the armor on her lower back into her stomach. She screamed in pain and blood flowed from her mouth and onto her armor.

Garrus struggled to reach her, to shoot down Harbinger, to do SOMETHING, but he was completely incapacitated by the husks. They had surrounded him, and were pulling, climbing, and biting him. He struggled, punching and kicking each direction, but they continued to overwhelm him. He cried out in frustration and pain as he felt himself losing balance. He went down hard, but it also loosened the husk's grip. Using his assault rifle, he shot through the mass and sprinted away.

Harbinger was still holding Shepard in a tight grip. He readied his gun, but before he could get a shot Jack leaped from behind cover and used her biotics to cave in Harbinger's head from behind. Both Shepard and the Collector collapsed to the ground. Garrus reached them as Jack pulled Shepard out from under the Collector.

"I'll help her! Go finish off the rest!" Jack raised an eyebrow at him. "GO, Jack!" he shouted at her. She smirked and went off after the last of the Collectors and husks.

Garrus inspected Shepard and found she was unconscious. He rolled her over to inspect her back. Her armor had been dented and destroyed on the right side of her lower back. Jagged edges of her armor punctured into her skin, and blood was freely pouring out of the wound.

"Fuck," Garrus swore. They would need to remove her torso armor to assess the whole damage. They needed to get her into shelter. Fast. He slapped a med-gel on the wound and watched it improve somewhat. He gently lifted Shepard up and went to find Jack.

The closest building they could find was a warehouse that had been locked. Jack quickly hacked through and they ran inside, locking the door again behind them.

Garrus set Shepard down and unclipped her armor. He slowly peeled it off but it still tore open her skin. Blood had pooled inside the armor turning her undershirt red. Garrus checked her stomach and found that Harbinger hadn't pierced completely through her torso. "It looks like the damage is mostly to her back. If she hadn't had armor on it would have torn her in half."

Jack nodded and gave Garrus what med-gels she had. They used everything they had and watched the wound close.

"That took care of most of it, but she probably still has internal damage. She needs to get back to the Normandy," Garrus said to Jack.

"Oh nonsense, turian." Shepard moaned.

Garrus and Jack both jumped in surprise as Shepard rolled over and sat up.

"Did you get a good look?" she said with a wink, and then winced in pain. She stood up and drew her gun. "Who's there?" she said to the darkness.

There was some rustling noise and a man stepped into the light with his hands held up. Garrus shook his head in embarrassment. He had been so preoccupied with making sure Shepard lived, he hadn't made sure the area was secure. If that had been a Collector, they would probably all be dead now.

"Who are you? How did you escape the Collectors?" Shepard asked, her gun still trained on him.

"I ran just like everyone else," he said angrily, "I was just smarter about my hiding spot. I'm a mechanic here on Horizon."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"It's the damn Alliance's fault," he spat. "If they hadn't been here, we would have been overlooked. We would have been fine."

"Why were the Alliance here?"

"They installed some Guardian Laser Turrets on the planet, but the blasted things didn't calibrate properly. So they sent some fancy lieutenant down to fix everything and protect us, but he failed."

Shepard narrowed his eyes, "Was his name Kaiden Alenko?"

"You know the bastard?"

"Yeah, he's a good solider and a good man," she said tilting up her chin.

"Bullshit. The Alliance caused this problem. If they had just left us alone, nothing would have happened. But instead they had to equip us and make us a target. Now if those lasers had actually worked this would be a different story…they used us as bait." The man's face was getting redder and redder, as his anger increased.

"I don't care about any of that. I'm just here to save as many people as I can. Do you know where the colonists are being taken?"

"North. I think the enemy ship is still docked up there." He pointed to the doors on the far side of the warehouse. "Just keep walking that way."

Shepard nodded. "Okay, let's go," she said to Garrus and Jack.

* * *

><p>I picked up my armor and quickly snapped it back into place. My back throbbed with every breath I took. The wound had closed but it felt like my insides were on fire. Dr. Chakwas was going to kill me when we got back.<p>

I just hoped we weren't too late to find Kaiden. I wasn't stupid enough to believe that Kaiden would be happy to see me after two years, but things had ended badly with us. Dying makes you realize that things that are fixable SHOULD be fixed before it's too late. Chasing Saren had been dangerous and Kaiden's warm, brown eyes had been easy to fall into. But I wasn't really one for relationships. When it was just sexual it was simple, but he wasn't the kind of guy to leave his emotions out of the bedroom. I had to end it pretty quickly, and he hadn't taken it too well. Before I could fix our friendship, I had died. So now I was pushing to get to him before he died, hopefully to make things right again.

Reloading my gun we exited the warehouse. I could see the giant turrets just ahead of us. Everything was still empty and desolate. My heart started pounding at the thought of Harbinger. I needed to talk to Mordin to see if he could design an upgrade for my armor, and apparently my weapons because what I had equipped now was not going to cut it. Today had been way too close…the terrified look that had been on Garrus's face told me as much, plus the amount of blood that was caked on the inside of my armor…

Shaking my head, I tried not to think about it. This wasn't the time or the place. I needed to be alert if I wanted to make it out of here alive.

Passing through a building we came across the first of them.

The colonists.

They were completely frozen, some on the ground, some even in a defensive or running position. They looked completely normal and unharmed, except for the fact that they immobile. They weren't even breathing, the only movement we found was a slight dilation of the eyes as we got closer.

It seemed as if the Collectors were still in the process of moving their captives on board. This was good. If we could blow up the Collector's vessel with the turrets, we could save most of the colonists.

We kept moving. There was some resistance but Harbinger didn't make an appearance. We killed the husks and Collectors as quickly as we could and moved on.

After what seemed like forever we reached the turrets. They were positioned in a little valley that offered minimal cover. The valley was surrounded by openings on all sides, and we could be easily surrounded. My skin started buzzing as soon as we stepped into the valley's domain. I knew this was a trap, but if we wanted to save the colonists we didn't have a choice. My back throbbed painfully with my nerves. "Be ready," I said turning to my companions. "They're coming."

Garrus's face was grim but accepting when he nodded. Jack just gave a feral smile as she shook with blood lust.

The silence was heavy as we walked to the closest turret. There was nothing but our footfalls. I hesitated before touching the control pad, wondering if my touch would break the calm around us. I lifted the cover and nothing happened. The turrets would not power on or respond to my touch. "EDI," I said into my radio, "I need to get these turrets back online and calibrated. Can you do that?"

"Yes. It will take some time though," she responded.

"Thank you."

With a hum the engines on both turrets started up, and the control panel in front of my came to life displaying '1%'. As if the charge of the turret was all they were waiting for, husks and Collectors started pouring in from all sides.

"Protect the turrets!" I yelled as we all jumped to cover. I found myself near Jack as she sliced through masses of husks. I wondered where Garrus was until I saw a Collector's head explode a couple feet from me.

I was a little slower than normal because of the wound but we still made quick work of our enemies.

"We have reached 25%." EDI said.

I motioned to my team to meet back in the middle to regroup for the next wave of enemies. As Garrus crossed the valley to meet us, I noticed movement behind him. There was a husk sprinting towards him, but this husk was red in color instead of blue. "Garrus on your 6!" I shouted at him.

He spun and shot the husk while it was still a couple of feet away. Instead of dropping dead, it exploded in a wall of flames. Garrus was thrown backwards into a large stone. He stood up unsteadily and limped over to us. There was blood running from his ears and mouth.

I jogged over, "Are you alright?"

"I'm find, Shepard. It's going take more than that to take me down. Remember, I took a rocket to the face? I excel at explosions," he purred.

Shepard could see the exhaustion on both his and Jack's faces. "Let's just get out of here in one piece. Oh, and don't get too close to those red ones…."

"What, no more fireworks?" Jack teased.

Garrus's brow furrowed, "What are fireworks?"

"Never mind," Shepard laughed.

They were interrupted by the next wave of enemies. This time they stayed close together. Garrus took out the Collectors from afar while I protected his six. Jack used her biotics to slice through the enemies that got too close.

"ASSUMING DIRECT CON—" the Collector wasn't able to finish before Garrus shot him down.

"Looks like Harbinger is back," he muttered.

As soon as Garrus interrupted a Collector's transformation another one lifted slowly into the air. Harbinger was relentless. Soon I sheathed my shotgun and grabbed my sniper to help.

"We have reached 60%."

Garrus and I shot Collector after Collector. We were lucky this time, Harbinger wasn't able to get close to us. Soon we were surrounded by silence again.

"Is that it?" Jack asked. "Shouldn't there be another damn wave of them?"

"Look at the size of their ship," Garrus responded. "There are definitely more out here. As to why they aren't rushing us… I have no idea."

"We have reached 80%."

I slowly scanned the area but found nothing. But soon I became aware of a slight buzzing in my left ear. I turned towards it and felt myself freeze. Flying towards us was a creature I'd only heard of, never seen.

There were old stories that parents read their children. If you were disobedient the Collectors _took_ you in the middle of the night. It was said that they force fed you drugs until you hallucinated, and then dropped you on a random planet. This planet was supposedly inhabited by a fearsome beast. The Collectors armed you with only a small knife. If you were able to kill one of the creature or survived for one week you were deposited back into your bed with a headache and a vague recollection of your abduction. Most parents just found their children's mutilated remains waiting for them in the morning.

"Is that… Is that what I think it is?" Garrus asked in awe.

"Yes. It's a Praetorian," I answered.

"Oh…we are _so _fucked," Jack sighed.

"Everyone get to cover. Use long range attacks. If you get too close it will rip you apart."

From behind my rock I watched it land. It had similar anatomy to the Collectors, but was much _much_ bigger. It floated a couple feet above the ground, and had long powerful talons that were sharpened to a point. As it got closer bile rose in the back of my throat. The Praetorian had skin and body parts wrapped around its exoskeleton. Around its neck hung the heads of the husks it had killed.

I pulled out my assault rifle and prepared for the fight.

Garrus got the first hit with a concussive shot. The enemy's barriers flickered but then came back fully charged. I started firing. The creature flew high up in the air and landed with a loud crash. The impact knocked me to the ground and took out my shields. I rolled quickly as it shot out a particle beam at me. The beam missed me by inches, leaving the ground scorched where it had hit.

"Get this bastard off of me!" I yelled.

"Shepard, it's ONLY aiming for you!"

I jumped to my feet and ran as fast as I could. I weaved as I felt the heat of the beam behind me. Every time my shield would charge the beam would get close to me, knocking my shield back off. Jumping behind a large shelter, I peaked around to see that Garrus was right it only wanted me. Jack and Garrus were hitting it nonstop from behind but it paid them no attention. I was its target. Killing me was its sole purpose. If I could keep moving and avoid the beam, Garrus and Jack could knock down its health.

I ran and ducked, ran and rolled, and just flat out sprinted. I was not going to die on this planet. Landing behind cover again, I willed my muscled to keep moving. I was exhausted, which meant I was capable of making stupid mistakes.

I pulled out my grenade launcher. Leaping from cover, I shot three grenades directly into the Praetorian's face. They exploded knocking it back and destroying the trophies hanging from its neck.

Garrus used that moment to shoot three successive shots through the creatures head. It fell with a crash at my feet.

The silence was filled by EDI, "We have reached 100%. Turrets are online and ready to fire. Should I fire at the Collector ship?"

"Yes, please."

We watched as the turrets fired on the ship. It went on for a couple of minutes before the Collectors realized what they were up against and took off. My heart sank as I watched the ship fly away. I knew they had still managed to capture a large number.

"They're getting away!" The mechanic from the warehouse yelled as he ran into view.

"We did everything we could," I said solemnly.

"But that ship was full of people! They're gone now…"

"We did what we had to. We managed to save as many lives as we lost. If we hadn't fired on their ship, we'd all be dead."

"Who the hell are you to make that decision?"

"Don't you know? You're standing in front of a legacy. A dead legend." My body froze as I forgot to breathe. That voice belonged to Kaiden, and it was also heavily laced with sarcasm. He wasn't happy.

I turned. "Kaiden."

He scowled and looked at me in disdain. "I thought you were dead," he said. He wore the same cold look Garrus had when I'd found him across the bridge.

"I was clinically dead. For two years. I just got back."

"That's all you have to say to me?" He got closer and I could see the rage on his face. "After two years, that's it? I loved you! When you died my world fell apart…I fell apart. I didn't know what to do, so I worked my way up in the Alliance. But then I heard rumors that you were back. And working for Cerberus." He stopped and looked at the logo on my uniform. "I see the rumors were true." His voice was bitter.

"Kaiden it's not like that. The Reapers are back. I'm not working for Cerberus. They are just the only ones willing to do anything about this threat. This is so much bigger than Cerberus or Alliance. We are all in danger and it looks like I'm the only one trying to stop it."

His eyes grew cold. "DON'T LIE TO ME! After everything we've been through, don't expect me to believe that! If you did die then when you were brought back to life you would have tried to contact me, but I've gotten NOTHING."

"Kaiden, I did—"

"ENOUGH! You have betrayed everything you stood for! The Alliance…" He stared at me with sorrow. "And you've betrayed me. Stop lying to yourself and to me. You're obviously not thinking clearly."

Garrus stepped forward, his face was narrowed in anger and his hands clenched into fists. "You're not thinking clearly, Kaiden! You watched that Reaper die on the Citadel, and yet as soon as Shepard was pronounced dead you stood up denying her claims. You betrayed her before she was even put to rest. So why don't you shut your goddamned mouth and stop spewing bullshit. You are a disgrace to even look at."

Kaiden pulled out his gun, but I stepped forward before he could shoot Garrus. "Kaiden, you know me. Why would I lie about this? What do I have to gain? Do you really think this lowly of me? That I'm that kind of person?"

Kaiden didn't answer. He stared at me a couple more seconds before turning around and walking away. Just before he was out of hearing range, he turned and said, "I don't know what to believe anymore."

A couple more steps and he was gone.

I released the tension in my body. I hated it but I was fighting the urge to cry. I hadn't realized how much my death had destroyed him, or how much his betrayal was going to hurt.

"So…who was that asshole?" Jack asked.

"It's a long story," Garrus responded.

I just flipped on my radio. "Joker come pick us up. I'm done with this place." I knew my voice sounded bitter and hurt, but I honestly didn't care.

Riding back to the Normandy was quiet. Garrus kept looking at me like he wanted to talk, but I really couldn't stand the pity written on his face. Jack just looked annoyed.

"Fuck him, Shep," she finally said. "He's not worth it. He seemed like a real tool."

I just ignored her. I was angry. Really angry. It wasn't even all Kaiden either. Everything that had happened on Horizon pissed me off. There had been too many close calls with the Collectors and then Kaiden's anger had surprised me.

I hadn't been in control of any situation the whole mission and that drove me crazy.

We finally docked and I was on the way down to see Dr. Chakwas look at my throbbing back and stomach when Joker announced, "The Illusive Man wants to speak with you, Commander."

I ground my teeth and changed course. Entering the Communications Room I logged into consol. The Illusive Man stared at me with a large smile on his face. "Good job, Shepard. We were able to find out a little more about our enemies through your heroics."

I stayed silent.

"You also saved many lives today." he continued.

"Tell me, Illusive Man, how did Kaiden and the Alliance knew I'm affiliated with Cerberus." I knew my emotions were playing across my face because his smile just grew.

Chuckling he said, "Because I told the Alliance you were working for me, and that you'd be on Horizon."

I shook my head as that sunk in. "You set us all up."

"Indeed. It was the only way to insure the Collectors would come."

"You are responsible for the deaths of half that colony, you bastard."

"A worthy cause. They died martyrs for our enlightenment. We are now one step closer to understanding and destroying our enemies."

"Don't ever assume we are on the same side. I do not condone pointless death. I am not a part of Cerberus, and I am not working for you. I am simply not working against you. We need to stop this threat and you just happen to be the only one to offer the required resources. As soon as I'm able I will destroy you because you are the most worthless piece of space I've ever met. Stop playing god. I refuse to be your puppet."

He smiled so wide I thought his face would crack. His eyes glowed orange like coals, and I realized he wasn't completely human or completely sane. "I suggest you continue building your team, _Commander. _You never know when you might need them to keep you alive." His smile fell away, leaving his face blank. It was even more terrifying than his smile. Now he seemed dangerous as well as insane. He stared at me unblinking until I felt goosebumps on my arms and a chill run up my spine. My body tensed for an attack, and my hand twitched for my gun. But he simply disconnected from the conversation.

I stepped out of the room and found Garrus waiting for me. He looked at me in surprise and asked, "What's wrong?"

"He set us up. The Illusive Man manipulated his way into getting the Collectors to attack Horizon. That way we'd encounter them and gain intel."

"He could have gotten us killed! He almost got you killed! Not to mention all the people who were killed on Horizon. Is he really that ruthless?"

"Yes. This isn't going to be the last time he sends us into a trap, Garrus. He threatened me. This isn't over. We can't trust anyone here."

"Don't think like that. Just because he's screwing us over doesn't mean everyone is. I'd talk to Miranda. She might know more."

I shook my head. "No one else is going to die because of him. Especially not any of my crew."

There was a pause while Garrus gave me an awkward look. "I'm sorry about Kaiden. I know you two used to be close. After you died he denied everything you stood for. I'm not going to claim to understand human romance, but it seemed like he didn't handle your death very well. But he's also an ass. In my opinion, you can do much better."

I laughed, "Maybe I'll try something not human next time."

"Asari? They are too soft for you."

"No. I was thinking turian." I watched his face freeze in panic. "I'm kidding Garrus. You can breathe again."

He let out a slow breath and swallowed. "Oh uh…. I'm not sure you could handle turian anyways. There's a lot of hard surfaces, and sharp edges. We are quite large too," he teased.

"Oh, dirty boy." I laughed.

Chuckling we both rode down to the med-bay so Dr. Chakwas could yell at us.


End file.
